McCain, Graham: Trump order 'may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security'


Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) released a joint statement on Sunday criticizing President Trump's executive order on immigration, saying that by banning refugees from majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States, a signal is being sent "intended or not that America does not want Muslims coming into our country. That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security."
While the United States must defend its borders, it has to be done in a way that "makes us safer and upholds all that is decent and exceptional about our nation," the senators said. The confusion at airports across the country on Saturday showed the executive order "was not properly vetted," and they are "particularly concerned by reports that this order went into effect with little to no consultation with the Departments of State, Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security."
McCain and Graham also said the executive order hurts interpreters who served the U.S. military, refugees who "have suffered unspeakable horrors," green card holders, and U.S. allies in Iraq. "Ultimately, we fear this executive order will become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism," the senators said. "At this very moment, American troops are fighting side-by-side with our Iraqi partners to defeat [the Islamic State]. But this executive order bans Iraqi pilots from coming to military bases in Arizona to fight out common enemies. Our most important allies in the fight against [ISIS] are the vast majority of Muslims who reject its apocalyptic ideology of hatred." Before tweeting his own statement about the executive order, Trump tweeted that McCain and Graham are "sadly weak on immigration" and "always looking to start World War III."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Supreme Court weighs court limits amid birthright ban
speed read President Trump's bid to abolish birthright citizenship has sparked questions among federal judges about blocking administration policies
-
Gabbard fires intelligence chiefs after Venezuela report
speed read Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has fired the top two officials leading the National Intelligence Council
-
Trump vows to lift Syria sanctions
speed read The move would help the new government stabilize the country following years of civil war
-
Senate rejects Trump's Library of Congress takeover
speed read Congress resisted the president's attempts to control 'the legislative branch's premier research body'
-
Hamas frees US hostage in deal sidelining Israel
speed read Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier, was the final living US citizen held by the militant group
-
White Afrikaners land in US as Trump-declared refugees
speed read An exception was made to Trump's near-total ban on admitting refugees for the white South Africans
-
Qatar luxury jet gift clouds Trump trip to Mideast
speed read Qatar is said to be presenting Trump with a $400 million plane, which would be among the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the US government
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin