Idaho GOP Rep. Raúl Labrador, R-Idaho, in a statement issued Sunday, praised President Trump’s new executive order suspending refugee arrivals and barring entry to the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries, calling it “bold” and saying, “President Trump has finally taken necessary national security and public safety measures regarding refugees and non-immigrants seeking entry.” Labrador did, however, say the administration “could have done a better job of implementing this executive order,” noting “confusion” and calling for revisiting its application to “legal permanent residents of the United States. He said, “Inadequate review and poor implementation of this executive action threatens to undermine otherwise sound policy.”
Here is Labrador’s full statement:
“Congress has identified significant flaws with the vetting process for those seeking entry into the United States. The prior administration failed to adequately address security concerns. President Trump has finally taken necessary national security and public safety measures regarding refugees and non-immigrants seeking entry. The media’s mischaracterization of the order as a ‘ban on Muslims’ is not only false, it is intentionally designed to mislead the public and to undermine the President’s agenda. The ban is temporary and does not exclude any particular group based on religion.”
“The President of the United States has sweeping powers to suspend the entry into the United States of aliens if their entry is detrimental to the interests of the United States. The Administration, however, could have done a better job of implementing this executive order. They failed to provide clear guidance on the policy which caused substantial confusion at the ports of entry. I urge the Administration to revisit the order’s applicability to legal permanent residents of the United States, and exercise great care before taking future action. Inadequate review and poor implementation of this executive action threatens to undermine otherwise sound policy. I remain a strong supporter of President Trump’s bold efforts to keep America safe, but they must be legally sound and uniformly enforced. I look forward to working with the President on these issues.”