Sen. Rob Portman criticized the execution of President Trump’s executive order temporarily banning travelers from seven predominately Muslim countries. But he agreed with reviewing visa and other rules in the name of national security.
Sen. Portman said green card holders should not have been detained or deported during this weekend’s rollout of the president’s executive order.
“I’m told the administration has made clear those folks should be allowed to enter the country. The administration, I think could have avoided confusion if they had engaged with key agencies and departments in advance,”he said.
The senator said he supported a New York judge’s ruling that kept the detainees from being returned to their home countries. But Portman maintains the nation’s immigration system has flaws that need to be fixed, especially when it comes to vetting refugees from countries where the US doesn’t have good intelligence networks.
Under the executive order, citizens from the seven nations cannot enter the United States for 90 days. Overall refugee resettlement has been suspended for 120 days. Immigration of Syrian refugees has been halted indefinitely.