The 9 Worst GOP Comments About Syrian Refugees

The tragic attacks in Paris have once again highlighted the unprecedented refugee crisis that’s arisen as a result of the Syrian civil war. Countries around the world have been under immense pressure to accept displaced Syrians, and not surprisingly, the question of whether to allow refugees into the United States has divided American politicians along familiar partisan lines. By and large, Republicans have opposed any admittance of Syrian migrants, and some GOP governors have taken the legally dubious step of banning any refugees from settling in their states in light of the attacks. But in general, the GOP has been happy to simply belt out offensive, lame-brained comments about refugees. A look at some of the worst things Republicans have said on the subject makes this clear.

While the Paris attacks brought this issue to the forefront of American politics, it’s certainly not the first time it's been in the spotlight. Back in September, President Obama announced that America would take in 10,000 Syrian refugees in 2016, a decision Republicans greeted with predictable outrage. The president has since reiterated his support for admitting refugees, saying in Turkey Monday that “slamming the door in their faces would be a betrayal of our values.”

Now Republicans are more outraged than ever. Here are some of their worst expressions of that outrage.

Donald Trump

“I'm putting the people on notice that are coming here from Syria as part of this mass migration that if I win, I win, they're going back.”

Ann Coulter

“Think of all the wonderful things refugees are bringing to Europe! Rape, murder, car burnings — list is endless!”

Jeb Bush

“I think our focus ought to be on the Christians who have no place in Syria anymore.”

Ted Cruz

“President Obama and Hillary Clinton's idea that we should bring tens of thousands of Syrian Muslim refugees to America, it is nothing less than lunacy. Now on the other hand, Christians who are being targeted for genocide, for persecution, Christians who are being beheaded or crucified, we should be providing safe haven to them.”

Rick Santorum

“Why are we taking them out of the region? When we do that, and relocate them in America, they’ll never go back into the Middle East. What will that accomplish? It will accomplish everything ISIS sets out to accomplish.”

Peter King

“I oppose this decision. We do not want another Boston Marathon Bombing.”

Ben Carson

“To bring them here under these circumstances is a suspension of intellect. You know, the reason that the human brain has these big frontal lobes as opposed to other animals, because we can engage in rational thought processing, we can, you know, extract information from the past, the present, process it and project it into a plan. Animals, on the other hand, have big brain stems and rudimentary things, because they react. We don’t have to just react. We can think.”

Mike Huckabee

“If @SpeakerRyan will not lead & reject the importation of those fleeing the Middle East he needs to step down today & let someone else lead.”

Bobby Jindal

“I just signed an Executive Order instructing state agencies to take all available steps to stop the relocation of Syrian refugees to LA.”