Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., argued Monday that President Trump’s executive order on immigration would ultimately “get Americans killed” because it would boost the notion that America is at war with Muslims, and serve as a recruiting tool for the Islamic State.
Murphy said on MSNBC that the Islamic State now is “on its heels,” and said one of its arguments for existing is that there is a war between Muslim and Christian people, between east and west, and we have now handed them a path to rebirth.”
“This is going to be all over the dark Web, recruiting both international terrorists and lone wolves here at home,” he said.
“And in Iran specifically, a country that is right now tilting between hardliners and moderates who want to engage with the west, this is a huge win for hardliners. This makes [Iranian President Hassan] Rouhani’s job more difficult, and if you’re really worried about a conflagration between the United States and Iran, this makes it much more likely,” Murphy added.
“So, this ultimately is going to get Americans killed, I believe it,” he said. “And we can make the moral argument, I think that’s important, but the national security argument probably should lead here.”
.@ChrisMurphyCT on Trump’s travel ban: This ultimately is going to get Americans killed https://t.co/AiqlUQTJiX
— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) January 30, 2017
Trump on Friday issued an order suspending immigration from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, all Muslim-majority countries. The 90-day ban is meant to give federal agencies time to review the information they need to verify the identity of people seeking to enter the United States.
The order also halted refugee admissions for 120 days, and stops Syrian refugee admissions indefinitely.
