A House Republican lawmaker proposed legislation Tuesday that would force the U.S. to deport all terrorist suspects living in the U.S.
The Terrorist Deportation Act, from Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., would revoke the visas of all non-citizens in the U.S. who are on the Terrorist Screening Database, and would prohibit people on that list from entering the country.
Duncan said his bill is needed because there are already people in the U.S. who are likely to be involved in terrorist activity that have not been removed.
“This legislation respects due process, while reducing the number of people residing in the United States who appear on a terror watch list, thus freeing up limited law enforcement resources to pursue other cases,” he said. “This has become of particular importance in recent months as there have been multiple acts of terrorism committed by people who had been previously investigated by the FBI for ties to terrorism.”
He also said using deportation is a better way to fight the threat than making it more difficult for everyone to buy guns. Democrats have turned the issue of domestic terror threats into a gun-control issue, but Duncan said that’s the wrong approach.
“It’s wrong to respond to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Fort Hood, Boston, Chattanooga, Little Rock, San Bernardino, Orlando, St. Cloud, and Chelsea by punishing innocent, law-abiding Americans,” he said.
“My bill will refocus the debate on the real homeland security issue of Islamic terrorism rather than the false narrative of gun control,” Duncan added.
He also said that focusing on guns ignores the reality that terrorists can use other means to hurt and kill people, including trucks, pressure-cookers and knives.
“Any government official who focuses on the method more than the terrorists themselves is making a disastrous mistake,” he said. “That is exactly what seems to be happening in government today, but I am hopeful that this legislation will correct that problem.”
