US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley asserted over the weekend that Syrian refugee children were dangerous to America because they came with adult family members.
Following President Donald Trump's military attack on Syria for the use of chemical weapons, CNN host Jake Tapper asked Haley why the administration was opposed to taking in refugees when "beautiful babies" were being "slaughtered."
"Why not allow Syrian refugees who are children and maybe their mothers to come in after they've been vetted?" Tapper wondered.
Haley argued that President Trump "very much believes in the responsibility of keeping Americans safe."
"That is very strong for him," she insisted. "That is something he wants to do."
"You also see a president who is compassionate, who is very much not going to put up with violations in chemical weapons use," the ambassador added. "Because he saw that this week very much as not only a national security risk, but also a international security risk."
Tapper pressed: "But certainly you don't think Syrian children pose a risk to the American people?"
"Well, Syrian children have to come with Syrian adults," Haley replied. "And you don't know, it's hard to know based on the vetting process. And that's unfortunate that we can't find that out."
"At the end of the day we need to remember that Syrians don't want to live somewhere else. They want to be home. They want to be with their family. They want to be with their loved ones. And that's the focus of why the airstrike happened this week."
Unfortunately, Tapper doesn't have the wherewithal to point out to Haley that the vetting process for refugees was, in fact, very vigorous, that generally last over a year. And it's important to note that not one fatal terror attack has been committed by a refugee.
And yes, it's true that these Syrian people would probably prefer to be able to live their lives in their country in peace. But despite her crocodile tears over the chemical weapons attack at the UN, the operative word for them is not "home" but "peace".