Bernie Sanders: Americans will 'not turn our backs on the refugees'


Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) made it clear on Monday that he does not stand shoulder to shoulder with governors who have said Syrian refugees are not welcome to settle in their states and Republican presidential candidates who believe only Christian refugees should be allowed to come to the United States.
"I am disturbed by some of what I am hearing from my Republican colleagues," he said during an event at Cleveland State University. "During these difficult times as Americans, we will not succumb to racism. We will not allow ourselves to be divided and succumb to Islamophobia. And while hundreds of thousands have lost everything, have nothing left but the shirts on their backs, we will not turn our backs on the refugees."
The Democratic presidential candidate said when it comes to fighting the Islamic State, "we gotta be tough, but not stupid," and said as president, he would build a global coalition to take on the terrorist organization.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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