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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhite House's claims about terrorists at border start to look even worse
Posted with permission.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/white-houses-claims-about-terrorists-border-start-look-even-worse?cid=sm_fb_maddow&fbclid=IwAR3rvxEVXKTvozfsG2Rf0lFY0FVD3XmDuko4Xa5h6DwqGvQXX5WdNmxh8Ps
White Houses claims about terrorists at border start to look even worse
01/08/19 08:40 AMUpdated 01/08/19 08:44 AM
By Steve Benen
The White House has a goal: build a giant border wall. It also has something resembling a plan to reach that goal: scare Americans into believing that the medieval vanity project will keep them safe.
To that end, Donald Trump declared on Friday, [Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen] has gone over the numbers, and the numbers are alarming. You know, one of the numbers that jumps out is last year, in 2017, actually. Over 3,700 known or suspected terrorists tried to enter into this country
. We have terrorists coming through the southern border because they find thats probably the easiest place to come through.
The same afternoon, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders echoed her boss assertion, arguing that Customs and Border Protection picked up nearly 4,000 known or suspected terrorists last year that came across our southern border. Even a Fox News host found it difficult to tolerate such brazen dishonesty.
But if the administrations talking points are obvious lies, whats the actual number? NBC News had an important report yesterday afternoon:
Overall, 41 people on the Terrorist Screening Database were encountered at the southern border from Oct. 1, 2017, to March 31, 2018, but 35 of them were U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. Six were classified as non-U.S. persons.
On the northern border, CBP stopped 91 people listed in the database, including 41 who were not American citizens or residents.
Lets take stock of where things stand in light of the latest revelations. First, when Sarah Huckabee Sanders said officials picked up nearly 4,000 known or suspected terrorists last year that came across our southern border, she was off by nearly 4,000.
Second, the six people who were caught appeared on a watchlist and may or may not have been dangerous.
Third, these individuals were stopped under the existing system, which further suggests a wall isnt necessary.
And finally, theres the inconvenient fact that more individuals from the watchlist tried to enter the United States through our northern border where Trump and his team dont see a crisis, and where theyve shown no interest in trying to build a giant wall.
For her part, DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen wrote on Twitter last night that the exact number of people from the watchlist that officials have encountered at the southern border is sensitive and details about these cases are extremely sensitive.
Perhaps. But this sounds a lot like an administration that wants Americans to be afraid of a threat that doesnt appear to exist, while asking that the public simply take Team Trumps word for it, even in the face of contradictory evidence.
stopbush
(24,398 posts)4,000 known or suspected terrorists is a true statement as long as there is a single KNOWN terrorist among the 4,000.
I hate the scum that is the tRump administration.
scarytomcat
(1,706 posts)terrorists terrorists terrorists
this is a stunt he using to kick off his 2020 campaign
the scam continues