Trump Calls For Immigration Ban On Areas With ‘History Of Terrorism’

During a June 13 speech in New Hampshire, Donald Trump said he would ban immigration from parts of the world associated with terrorism if elected president.

“The immigration laws of the United States give the president powers to suspend entry into the country of any class of persons,” Trump told the crowd, according to CNBC. “… I would use this power to protect the American people. When I’m elected, I will suspend immigration from areas of the world where there is a proven history of terrorism against the United States, Europe or our allies, until we fully understand how to end these threats.”

The comments came in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, in which a 29-year-old Florida resident reported to be homophobic, “unhinged” and “unstable” pledged his allegiance to ISIS before opening fire at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killing at least 49 patrons, reports Florida Today.

“We cannot continue to allow thousands upon thousands of people to pour into our country, many of whom have the same thought process as this savage killer,” Trump said in his speech, adding that “many of the principles of radical Islam are incompatible with Western values and institutions,” notes CNBC.

Following the shooting, Trump said that the U.S. is “importing radical Islamic terrorism into the West,” thanks to a “failed immigration system” and intelligence organizations that are unable to operate at their full capacity due to orders from President Barack Obama.

“Even our own FBI director has admitted that we cannot effectively check the backgrounds of people we’re letting into America,” the presumptive Republican nominee added.

The tragedy has sparked impassioned debates after it was revealed that the shooter, who was born in New York and grew up in the U.S., was Muslim. Some said his faith was to blame for his actions, while others pointed to homophobia.

“Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don’t want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance,” Trump tweeted on June 12. “We must be smart!”

He later added that the Orlando shooting is “just the beginning” and called U.S. leadership “weak and ineffective.”

“I called it and asked for the ban,” Trump added, referring to his call to ban Muslim immigrants from entering the U.S. “Must be tough.”

Sources: CNBC, Donald Trump/Twitter (2), Florida Today (2) / Photo Credit: Michael Vadon/Wikimedia Commons