Santorum Campaign Press Release - Santorum Responds to Syrian Refugee Crisis

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum (R-PA) today called on Congress to pass legislation to halt any and all efforts to relocate Syrian refugees to the United States and to authorize funding to support our Middle East allies establish and operate refugee settlements in the region.

Rick Santorum said: "The atrocities we see in the Middle East are heartbreaking, but under no circumstances should the United States take in any of those displaced in Syria for two very important reasons."

"First, we have no idea who these people are, what their backgrounds are, and what caused their specific displacement. There is no tracking mechanism in place that will discern between a radical Islamist and persecuted refugee. As we learned this week, radical Islam is on the move and their motives are to destroy the western world. We cannot afford to make a mistake in relocating even one of these jihadists to our soil."

"Second, and just as important, by taking in persecuted Christians, Jews, and moderate Muslims, we are complicit in helping ISIS accomplish their goal of establishing an Islamic caliphate. Without Christians, Jews, or moderate Muslims in the region, radical Islam will be allowed to run rampant. Instead, we must support those persecuted by assisting our friends in the region who have established settlements for refugees."

"My heart goes out to those who are being displaced. America is the beacon of freedom to the world, but that means we must be forward thinking and decisive in defeating radical Islam. Supporting our allies in the region with this humanitarian crisis is one important component of this effort. Keeping the refugees in the region so they can more easily return to their homes is essential to ensuring the Islamic caliphate's roots are not firmly planted."

Senator Santorum served for 8 years on the Senate Armed Services Committee, authoring our current sanctions regimes against both Syria and Iran. After leaving the Senate, Rick Santorum led a program at the Ethics and Public Policy Center focused on the rise of radical Islam - lecturing internationally on the threat posed by the rise of radical Islam.