Tennessee state representative and chairman of the House GOP Caucus Glen Casada made a statement Tuesday regarding Syrian refugess in the state.
“We need to activate the Tennessee National Guard and stop them from coming in to the state by whatever means we can,” Casada told The Tennessean.
His plan also entails gathering refugees currently in the state and returning them to U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
Casada spoke with Mike Osborne, news director for 89.5 WMOT, on the subject.
“We, as Tennesseans, will have to trust the FBI to do the appropriate work to make sure those that have been here for an extended period of time are not terrorists,” Casada said, calling for increased surveillance of Islamic people in the U.S.
He referenced the Chattanooga shooting of four marines earlier this year as evidence for his claim. However, the representative does not believe far right-wing or other extremist groups should be monitored.
“There’s no need to monitor what Americans look at, be it Buddhists, Jews, Christians, because there is no history. Only radical Islam is attacking and killing Americans and other people in the world,” Casada said.
The representative proposes that if an Islamic refugee is found to be involved with terrorist sites, Tennessee officials should “take them up and get them out of the country.”
“We’re not singling them out for their religion, we’re singling them out for being part of organizations that advocate… the bombing and killing of, in this case, Tennesseans.”
In addition, Casada wants the state to do everything it can to prevent more refugees from entering, stating, “Those refugees from Islamic countries that are, and is the key word, ‘Islamist,’ some of those are trained terrorists.” His plan is to give these individuals back to the federal government as soon as they arrive.
“I say we refuse them and do not let those 10,000 Islamic Syrians into our state.”
Much opposition has been made by politicians since Obama announced the arrival of 10,000 Syrians to be resettled in the United States.
As of right now, 26 governors have made statements refusing refugees. Governor Haslam sent a letter to the president yesterday asking the federal government to suspend placement of refugees in Tennessee.
The Deputy Director of Communications for the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, Megan Buell said, “We are not aware of any credible threats in Tennessee at this time. We continue to communicate with federal, state, and local public safety partners to monitor any potential threats.”
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