But What Would Rand Do?
By The last great civil libertarian hope!
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) argued in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) Monday that an immigration reform bill should address national security concerns raised by the Boston Marathon bombings last week. Paul’s letter asks for increased scrutiny over letting in immigrants or giving student visas to people from “high-risk areas” like the Chechen Republic in Russia.
“We should not proceed until we understand the specific failures of our immigration system,” Paul wrote in the letter. “Why did the current system allow two individuals to immigrate to the United States from the Chechen Republic in Russia, an area known as a hotbed of Islamic extremism, who then committed acts of terrorism? Were there any safeguards? Could this have been prevented? Does the immigration reform before us address this?”
Here’s the full letter. Note, of course, that the Tsarnaev brothers are ethnically Chechen, not from Chechnya itself; the older was born in Dagestan, the younger in Kyrgyzstan. In effect, Rand is suggesting that 8 year olds from suspect ethnic backgrounds should be banned from entering the United States.
Smell the freedom!