Actor Kal Penn went on a Twitter rant Thursday, railing against House Democrats who helped pass a bill that will make it much harder for Syrian refugees to gain entrance to the U.S.
His initial tweet specifically called out Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo.
Polis defended his choice in an interview with The Denver Post: “I reviewed the bill last night. I met with administration officials this morning and I wasn’t persuaded that … the security measures in the bill would, in any way, stop us from receiving more refugees. If the administration has other ideas (or) better ideas about improving the vetting process, then I look forward to being able to support those as well.”
Disgusted to see some House Democrats join crazy Republicans in stoking mass hysteria on the refugee issue @RepJaredPolis I’m looking at you
— Kal Penn (@kalpenn) November 19, 2015
Penn followed that up by tweeting out a chart that illustrates why he believes the Syrian refugees are not a credible threat to U.S. national security.
What you need to know about the Syrian refugees in the U.S. →https://t.co/mtBAgDEdIl #RefugeesWelcome pic.twitter.com/QJdQQKmR4x
— White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) November 19, 2015
Then came a series of four tweets accusing Congress of fear mongering by voting for the bill, which he said is exactly the reaction for which the terrorists who killed 129 people in Paris were hoping.
Taking hysterical measures without specific credible threats make no sense other than stoking fear, which is what terrorists want.
— Kal Penn (@kalpenn) November 19, 2015
If members of congress believe there’s a problem w/ the refugee process as a whole, then fix it as a whole.But that’s not what they’re doing
— Kal Penn (@kalpenn) November 19, 2015
Scapegoating and stoking fear is easier than having the backbone to act in a way that adheres to our great American values & keeps us safe.
— Kal Penn (@kalpenn) November 19, 2015
Both are possible. They’re not mutually exclusive. They’re trying to present us with a false choice. We should be better than this.
— Kal Penn (@kalpenn) November 19, 2015
The bill passed with a whopping 289-137 voting margin that saw 47 Democrats side with Republicans on the issue, which spurned President Obama and his calls for politicians to be more open to accepting refugees.
Penn is no stranger to the political realm. He served as an associate director in the White House Office of Public Engagement from April 2009-July 2011.
