There is “no chance” that a candidate who supports amnesty can win the presidency, a congressman from Virginia suggests, because voters are too concerned about national security.
“I think immigration and the nexus between immigration and national security will determine the next president,” Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va., told the Washington Examiner.
“The outsider candidates have been very clear in their positions on amnesty, refugees, foreign policy, visa overstays. That’s the reason they’ve been leading the pack. In general, it’s very easy to see. The folks who have been wrong on amnesty and won’t address that issue have no chance of being president of the United States,” Brat said.
Brat defeated former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a 2014 Republican primary by focusing mainly on restricting illegal immigration. That issue gained prominence in Virginia again this month after two men, Joseph Hassan Farrokh and Mahmoud Amin Mohamed Elhassan, were arrested at Richmond International Airport on charges of terrorism. Federal authorities allege the two were attempting to travel to Syria to fight alongside the Islamic State.
Brat suggested the situation wasn’t exceptional, pointing to comments made by Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey indicating the agency has about 1,000 open terrorism investigations around the country.
“Immigration is now a national security issue,” Brat said, “and 70 percent of Republican voters now are just fuming over this spectrum of issues, from foreign policy to national security to immigration.
“You cannot hide on immigration or national security,” Brat added. “There’s a huge anxiety hanging over the American people right now, and they want to hear someone answer credibly on that issue.”
