U.S. should reject Syrian refugees, Ben Carson says in Henderson

By Scott Lucas

Monday, Nov. 16, 2015 | 10:16 a.m.

The United States should not accept refugees from the conflict in Syria, Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said at a news conference this morning at Henderson’s Green Valley Ranch Resort.

His comments came in response to President Barack Obama’s remarks this morning that to change plans in response to the attacks in Paris on Friday to settle more than 10,000 refugees in the United States would be a “betrayal of our values.”

Carson called on Republican members of the House of Representatives to terminate public funding for any federal program that would resettle refugees, saying that “given the events in Paris Friday night, there can be no disputing the fact that the United States cannot, should not and must not accept any Syrian refugees.”

Saying that as president he would not apply a “religious” screening to immigrants, Carson argued that the United States should use an “ideological test,” and Syrian refugees who have already emigrated to the United States should be monitored closely.

“We should not be afraid to pull the trigger,” Carson said.

The retired neurosurgeon, who spoke at the International Church of Las Vegas and the Henderson Pavilion on Sunday, was one of several Republican presidential contenders who criticized the president’s remarks this morning. Donald Trump called the refugees a “Trojan horse." Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said he would suspend resettlement from Syria in his state, joining governors in three other states.

Carson also called for increased use of military force against the Islamic State, which has claimed responsibility for the attack in Paris.

“We can’t fight a politically correct war,” Carson said, calling for a no-fly zone in Syria and an increased presence of American military forces.

In his speech Sunday, Carson accused the Obama administration of “turning its back” on allies like Israel. He declined to comment on what message a refusal to accept Syrian refugees would send to American allies like Germany, which has pledged to accept 35,000 people displaced by the conflict.