Paris attacks: Four important lessons world must learn from French tragedy

French President Francois Hollande has contended unambiguously that ISIS launched the Paris terrorist attacks Friday night, and ISIS itself has now claimed responsibility.  It is not too early, even now, to draw important lessons from this tragedy.  We do so both to prevent the near-term recurrence of more terrorist violence against the West, and to address seriously the broader, global Islamicist threat that has been growing, not diminishing, in recent years.  We certainly have at least enough information and experience to draw working hypotheses for the next days and weeks until more details become available.
Indeed, this is a time for statesmanship, resolve and determination, not for sweeping the cruel reality of what has just happened under the rug.  Our ability to safeguard the future may well depend in substantial part on what we do and how we do it in just these coming days and weeks.
First, the Paris attacks were not “senseless violence” as some media commentators observed as the news coverage unfolded.
Nor were they “an attack on all of humanity and the universal values that we share,” as President Obama said late Friday evening.

These Islamic radicals know who their enemies are, and have for decades. It is we -- or at least some of our leaders -- who have forgotten who is under attack.

This coordinated, well-planned and, sadly, well-executed series of assaults on innocent civilians was deliberate, ideologically motivated, and carefully targeted. 
These Islamic radicals know who their enemies are, and have for decades.  It is we  --  or at least some of our leaders  --  who have forgotten who is under attack.
President Hollande was himself attending the soccer match at the Stade de France, where suicide bombers struck, and might well have been one of the targets.
At a minimum, the terrorists showed they could strike in close physical proximity to the head of the French government.
We should be immediately concerned that other attacks in prominent Western capitals, against senior European and U.S. government officials and the West generally may be in the offing.
Second, we should not view the appropriate American and Western response as “bringing these terrorists to justice,” in President Obama’s words.  This is not a matter for the criminal law, as many American political and academic leaders, including the President, have insisted, even after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
This is a war, as President Hollande has forthrightly called it, not a slightly enhanced version of thieves knocking over the corner grocery store within an ordered civil society.  And the mechanism of response must be to destroy the source of the threat, not prosecute it, not contain it, not hope that we will “ultimately” destroy it.  “Ultimately” is too far away.
Third, in light of Paris and the continuing threat of terrorism it so graphically conveys, we need a more sensible national conversation about the need for effective intelligence gathering to uncover and prevent such tragedies before they occur.
Knee-jerk, uninformed and often wildly inaccurate criticisms of programs (such as several authorized in the wake of 9/11 in the Patriot Act) have created a widespread misimpression in the American public about what exactly our intelligence agencies have been doing and whether there was a “threat” to civil liberties. Now is the time to correct these misimpressions, and to rebut the unfounded criticisms that have in too many cases become the conventional wisdom.
Similarly, in the debate over immigration and refugees, it is time to take into account the national security issues at stake.
Law-enforcement and intelligence authorities had already estimated earlier this year that thousands of European and U.S. citizens had travelled to ISIS-controlled territory in Syria and Iraq, there to receive training and financing to conduct terrorist operations in their home countries. These were individuals with valid passports and visas, taking advantage of holes in our detection and prevention capabilities.
One priority should be to determine if any of those perpetrating the November13-14 attacks in Paris had travelled to ISIS lands.  And imagine now the dangers posed by the massive refugee flows moving into Europe from North Africa, the Middle East and even Afghanistan.
Finally, as we all know, the United States is already in the midst of the 2016 presidential campaign. America’s proper place in the world should be at the very center of the debate.
This is precisely the right moment to discuss the threats we face and how to meet them. We should discard the conventional wisdom of political operatives and commentators who routinely say that American voters do not care about national-security issues.  
The first responsibility of the president is to keep the country safe.  While there are many important issues at stake next November, all of them come second when the safety of the country is at risk.
If citizens cannot get the attention of political candidates now, when can they expect to?  As part of our shared obligations as U.S. citizens, we should work to make 2016 a national-security election.  Either we do it, or our adversaries will do it for us.
John Bolton was U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 through 2006. He is currently a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a Fox News contributor

ISIS leader in Libya likely killed in US airstrike, official says

An American airstrike has targeted and likely killed a top Islamic State leader in Libya, in a strike that happened just as the Paris terrorist attacks were underway, the Pentagon said Saturday.
Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said the U.S. strike targeted Abu Nabil, also known as Wissam Najm Abd Zayd al Zubaydi, an Iraqi national who was a longtime al-Qaida operative and the senior Islamic State leader in Libya. This was the first airstrike against an Islamic State leader in Libya and comes on the heels of a U.S. and British operation late last week in Syria that officials believe likely killed Islamic State militant Mohammed Emwazi. Emwazi was a Kuwaiti-born British citizen known as "Jihadi John," who appeared in several videos depicting the beheadings of U.S. and Western hostages.
A senior U.S. official said that the latest airstrike in Libya struck a command and control center near the eastern port city of Darnah and likely killed Nabil and others with him. Officials are still assessing the results of the strike but called Nabil's death strongly probable.
The official says the strike by an F-15 fighter jet took place shortly after the Paris terrorist attacks were underway, but had been planned for some time. The aircraft were in the air when the attacks began in France.
The official was not authorized to discuss the strike publicly so spoke anonymously.
Cook said that Nabil also may have been the spokesman in the video of the February 2015 mass killings of Coptic Christians in Libya, also likely by Islamic State militants. He said that Nabil's death "will degrade ISIS' ability to meet the group's objectives in Libya, including recruiting new ISIS members, establishing bases in Libya, and planning external attacks on the United States." Cook used an alternative acronym for the militants.

Details emerge on some of the victims of Paris attacks

Victims Nohemi Gonzalez of California and Nick Alexander of Great Britain are shown in this composite

A young French lawyer specializing in white collar crime. An engineer from Spain. An American college student studying design on a semester abroad. They were among the first victims to be identified after the gun-and-suicide bombing attacks that killed at least 129 people in Paris. Among the confirmed dead:
—Valentin Ribet, 26, a lawyer with the Paris office of the international law firm Hogan Lovells. He was among scores of people killed at a rock show in the Bataclan concert hall. Ribet received a master of laws degree from the London School of Economics in 2014, and earlier did postgraduate work at the Sorbonne university in Paris. His law firm said he worked on the litigation team, specializing in white collar crime. "He was a talented lawyer, extremely well liked, and a wonderful personality in the office," the firm said.
—Nohemi Gonzalez, 23, a senior at California State University, Long Beach. The university said Gonzalez, from El Monte, California, was attending Strate College of Design in Paris during a semester abroad program. Gonzalez was in the Petit Cambodge restaurant with another Long Beach State student when she was fatally shot, Cal State officials said in a news conference Saturday. A spokesman described Gonzalez as buoyant and extremely energetic. The university was notified of her death by French school officials and confirmed the death with her parents. Gonzales lived in the Los Angeles suburb of El Monte.
—Djamila Houd, 41, of Paris, originally from the town of Dreux, southwest of the capital. The newspaper serving Dreux — L'Echo Republicain — said Houd was killed at a cafe on the rue de Charrone in Paris. According to Facebook posts from grieving friends, she had worked for Isabel Marant, a prestigious Paris-based ready-to-wear house.
—Thomas Ayad, 32, producer manager for Mercury Music Group and a music buff who was killed at the Bataclan. In his hometown, Amiens, he was an avid follower of the local field hockey team. Lucian Grainge — the chairman of Universal Music Group, which owns Mercury Music — said the loss was "an unspeakably appalling tragedy," in a Saturday note to employees provided to the Los Angeles Times.
—Alberto Gonzalez Garrido, 29, of Madrid, who also was at the Bataclan concert. The Spanish state broadcaster TVE said Gonzalez Garrido was an engineer, living in France with his wife, also an engineer. They both were at the concert, but became separated amid the mayhem.
— Mathieu Hoche, 38, a technician at France24 news channel, also killed at the concert. A friend, Antoine Rousseay, tweeted about how passionately Hoche loved rock 'n' roll.
—Nick Alexander, 36, of Colchester, England, who was working at the Bataclan selling merchandise for the performing band, Eagles of Death Metal. "Nick was not just our brother, son and uncle, he was everyone's best friend — generous, funny and fiercely loyal," his family said in a statement. "Nick died doing the job he loved and we take great comfort in knowing how much he was cherished by his friends around the world."
—Guillame Decherf, 43, a writer who covered rock music for the French culture magazine Les Inrocks. He was at the Eagles of Death Metal concert, having written just two weeks earlier about the band's latest album. He had two daughters.

Clinton hit by Dem rivals over Wall St. ties, Mideast policies at 2nd debate

Hillary Clinton faced tough criticism Saturday night from her Democratic rivals over everything from her Middle East policies to her swaying stance on gun control to her Wall Street ties, at a debate that saw both Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley step up their attacks on the party’s front-runner.
The former secretary of state was put on the defensive almost immediately, as she was challenged by her rivals -- and the moderator -- over military interventions she backed in countries now gripped by instability. Vermont Sen. Sanders ripped her support for “regime change.”
But while the Paris terror attacks the night before shifted the early presidential debate focus to national security, the candidates sparred aggressively in the latter half over domestic issues – especially financial industry reform and Clinton’s Wall Street support.
Former Maryland Gov. O’Malley called her the “candidate of Wall Street.”
Asked about her hefty Wall Street-backed speaking fees and donations, Clinton defended her independence in being able to pursue financial industry reform.
But Sanders shot back, “Not good enough.”
“Let's not be naive about it. Why …has Wall Street been the major campaign contributor to Hillary Clinton?” he said. “You know, maybe they're dumb and they don't know what they're going to get, but I don't think so.”
He and O’Malley, unlike Clinton, both want to re-instate a Depression-era banking law known as Glass-Steagall – and they both criticized Clinton’s Wall Street plans as not going far enough.
O’Malley called it “weak tea.”
In an eyebrow-raising moment, Clinton countered Sanders’ criticism of her Wall Street donations by saying that as New York senator, she helped “rebuild” Wall Street and downtown Manhattan after 9/11.
Clinton was later asked about social media reaction claiming she had invoked 9/11 to justify financial industry donations; Clinton said she’s sorry that anyone had that “impression.”
Meanwhile, she said she doesn’t think her rivals’ financial industry plans – particularly to reinstate the Depression-era law that separated investment and commercial banking – would get the job done.
“I'm all about making sure we actually get results,” Clinton said.
The debate in Des Moines, Iowa, came in the wake of the Paris terror attacks, which thrust the issues of national security and foreign policy back to the center of the 2016 campaign. The format of the debate – hosted by CBS News, KCCI-TV and The Des Moines Register -- was changed to focus anew on those issues in the beginning.
Clinton tried to highlight her deep experience in foreign policy issues from the outset.
“This election is not only about electing a president. It's also about choosing our next commander-in-chief,” she said.
But, citing the chaos in the Middle East and North Africa, Clinton’s rivals soon turned to her record as U.S. senator and later as secretary of state to question her judgment in foreign policy matters.
O’Malley appeared to criticize her support for toppling Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi.
He said America’s role is not to roam the world “looking for new dictators to topple.” He said it is also important to understand “secondary and third consequences” that come after removing a “single dictator.” O’Malley called Libya, Syria and other countries in the region a “mess.”
Clinton defended her support for ousting Qaddafi, saying he was threatening a “genocide” and America’s European and Arab allies asked for U.S. support. And to O’Malley’s critique, she said, “I don’t think you can paint with a broad brush” in an “incredibly complicated region of the world.”
Sanders, meanwhile, referenced Clinton’s Senate vote for the use of force in Iraq and said the “disastrous invasion” led “to the rise of Al Qaeda and to ISIS.” The senator also claimed that “climate change is directly related to the growth of terrorism.”
Clinton again called her Iraq war vote a “mistake,” but disputed that the war is the only driver of modern terrorism.
She and O’Malley briefly sparred over America’s role in fighting ISIS. After Clinton said it “cannot be an American fight, although American leadership is essential,” O’Malley said, “This actually is America’s fight,” though not “solely” America’s fight.
Sanders staked out a different position in saying it is the nations in the region that “have to get their hands dirty.”
“Those Muslim countries are going to have to lead the effort,” he said.
The candidates declined to categorize the threat itself as “radical Islam.” Asked about that categorization, Clinton said only, “I don’t think we’re at war with Islam.”
All the candidates on stage condemned the Paris terror attacks and vowed to take on the threat of terror.
“It cannot be contained. It must be defeated,” Clinton said of ISIS, appearing to distance herself from President Obama, who hours before the Paris attacks claimed ISIS was “contained.”
The attacks across multiple locations in Paris killed at least 129 people and wounded hundreds, officials said. It brought the issue of terrorism to the forefront of both party’s presidential primary races. Ostensibly, it is an area where Clinton enters with the thickest resume – but also one that could, as the debate showed, prove problematic given her involvement shaping the policies in increasingly unstable nations like Libya and Syria.
While the tragedy hung over the debate, the candidates were able to tackle of range of domestic issues including wages and immigration.
O’Malley landed virtually the only shot of the night against Republican candidate Donald Trump, a favorite target of the Democrats, by calling him an “immigrant-bashing carnival barker.” The Democratic candidates generally agree on the call for comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants in the country.
Sanders, meanwhile, continued to advocate for a $15 minimum wage.
But the candidates were divided on gun control. While Clinton has tried in the past to cast Sanders as soft on the issue, O’Malley accused Clinton of being “on three sides of this.”
“When you ran in 2000, you said we needed federal robust regulations, then in 2008 you were portraying yourself as Annie Oakley and saying we don't need those regulations ... and now you’re coming back around here,” he said.
The debate was notable in that it saw Sanders and O’Malley taking a more aggressive tone against the front-runner, who seemed to have strengthened her hand since their initial debate.
Since that debate, two candidates have dropped out, leaving only Sanders and O’Malley. She also made it through a lengthy hearing before the Benghazi congressional committee and saw one of her biggest potential political threats – a late bid by Vice President Biden – disappear as the vice president announced he would not run.
Sanders remains Clinton’s biggest challenge, and has stirred an enthusiasm in the Democratic base that Clinton has struggled to evoke. But nationally and in Iowa, she continues to lead him by double digits in the polls.
Still, the FBI investigation over Clinton’s use of a personal email and server while secretary of state looms over her bid, with the probe said to be expanding. Sanders appeared to give her a pass on the email issue at the first debate by saying he was tired of hearing about the controversy.
Sanders, though, stood by his comments at the second debate Saturday night: “I was sick and tired of Hillary Clinton’s email, I’m still sick and tired of Hillary Clinton’s email. … Let’s go to the major issues facing America.”

PARIS MURDERER NAMED Cold-blooded assailant was French citizen had ties to radical Islam, Ismael Omar Mostefai

 Ismael Omar Mostefai

At least one of the eight assailants who created havoc around Paris Friday night was identified Sunday as Ismael Omar Mostefai, a 29-year-old French citizen who had previously been flagged for links to Islamic radicalism.
A French judicial official said Mostefai’s father, a brother and other family members have been detained and are being questioned, according to the Associated Press.
The mayor of the French city of Chartres, Jean-Pierre Gorges, identified Mostefai as a resident in a Facebook post. The judicial official confirmed the name to the Associated Press, but spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
The Paris prosecutor said one of the attackers was a 29-year-old Frenchman who was born in the Chartres region who had been known to authorities for radicalism. Prosecutor Francois Molins told Sky News Mostefai had a criminal record, but didn’t spend time in jail.
"In 2010, he was blacklisted by the police due to extreme behaviors, but never been classified into any illegal extremist groups."

More on this...

• Paris attacks prompt debate on further intervention in Syria

• Landmarks around the world display French colors

• FBI monitoring stream of ISIS chatter online

Little is known about the Mostefai's background, but French investigators have learned he grew up on a tough French housing project and turned to radicalism five years ago.
The unidentified prosecutor told AP he was identified by fingerprints on a finger found in the carnage of the Paris attacks Friday night, which left at least 129 dead and more than 300 wounded.
A Seat car with suspected links to the terror attacks was also found by police in Montreuil, approximately four miles east of Paris. A French official, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity, said they couldn’t immediately confirm if it was the same black Seat car linked to the gun attacks on the Le Carillon bar and the Le Petit Cambodge restaurant in Rue Alibert in the city’s 10th district.
Molins said Saturday that gunmen armed with automatic rifles pulled up in that model car before opening fire, killing 15 people and injuring 10.
Serbian police said Sunday the owner of a passport found near a suicide bomber in Paris entered the country on Oct. 7 from Macedonia as part of the wave of asylum-seeking refugees crossing the Balkans toward Western Europe.
Police said in a statement the man, identified only as A.A., formally requested asylum in Serbia. It's the same passport holder registered as entering Greece on Oct. 3.
Officials in Greece say the passport's owner entered through Leros, one of the eastern Aegean islands that tens of thousands of people fleeing war and poverty have been using as a gateway into the European Union.
Molins told Sky News the passport was found at the Stade de France bombing site and belonged to a Syrian citizen born in 1990.
Belgian police arrested three in connection with the terror assaults Saturday. Belgium Justice Minister Koen Geens told the VRT network that the arrests came after a car with Belgian license plates was seen Friday night close to the Bataclan concert hall, scene of the deadliest assault where at least 89 people were massacred by attackers armed with AK-47s and explosives.
Geens said the car was a rental and the arrests stemmed from police raids conducted in the St. Jans Molenbeek neighborhood in Brussels.
Eight terrorists wielding AK-47s and wearing suicide belts carried out a series of coordinated attacks at six sites around Paris Friday night, killing at least 129 people and wounding at least 352 others.
French President Francois Hollande called the attacks an “act of war” in a nationally televised address Saturday. Hollande vowed France “will be merciless toward the barbarians of Islamic State group.”
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the apparent meticulously planned attacks and has warned that France would remain at the “top of the list of targets” over its airstrike on the militant group in Syria and Iraq.
ISIS, in an online statement, described Paris as "the carrier of the banner of the Cross in Europe" and described the attackers as "eight brothers wrapped in explosive belts and armed with machine rifles."
French police said Saturday they believed all of the attackers were dead but were still searching for possible accomplices. The French prosecutor's office said seven of the eight assailants died in suicide bombings.

Obama's Red Line Cartoon

Obama condemns 'outrageous' Paris attacks, State Department scrambles to locate Americans

President Obama Condemned this, yet wants to bring Syria Refugees to America?

President Obama condemned the multiple terror attacks in Paris late Friday, calling them an "outrageous attempt to terrorize innocent civilians" and vowing the U.S. will do what it takes to help "bring these terrorists to justice." 
"This is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values that we share," Obama said from the White House. "... This is a heartbreaking situation."
While stressing he does not know all the details and does "not want to speculate," Obama said the U.S. is "prepared and ready" to give whatever assistance is needed to the French government and people.
"France is our oldest ally," Obama said.
The attack, and the president's comments, came hours after an interview aired in which Obama claimed the Islamic State was being contained.
"I don't think they're gaining strength," Obama told ABC News' "Good Morning America." "We have contained them. They have not gained ground in Iraq. And in Syria, they'll come in, they'll leave, but you don't see this systematic march by ISIL across the terrain."
He acknowledged coalition forces have not been able to "decapitate their command-and-control structures."
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Friday's attacks. Online accounts linked to the Islamic State are celebrating the attack, though this does not represent a claim of responsibility.
More than 150 people were believed to have been killed in Friday's attacks, with gunmen executing scores of victims inside a Paris concert hall after killing dozens of others at separate locations. The State Department said that 70 U.S. citizens known to be in France have not yet been accounted for, though none of them has been reported killed.
The State Department says U.S. citizens can contact 1-888-407-4747 (from the U.S.) or 202-501-4444 (from other countries) for assistance.
Secretary of State John Kerry, saying he shares the president's "outrage and sadness," also said the U.S. embassy in Paris is "making every effort to account for the welfare of American citizens in the city."
"These are heinous, evil, vile acts," Kerry said. "Those of us who can must do everything in our power to fight back against what can only be considered an assault on our common humanity."
The series of attacks gripped the city in fear and recalled the horrors of the Charlie Hebdo carnage just 10 months ago.
A U.S. government official told Fox News they believe this was a coordinated attack. One source said it points to "months of planning" based on the multiple locations where the attacks were playing out.
Amid the attacks, Fox News is told that officials were "beefing up" security at the U.S. Capitol Friday evening, though there is no concrete intelligence indicating a threat in the U.S.
On Twitter, House Speaker Paul Ryan said, "All of Paris needs our prayers tonight."
The Department of Homeland Security put out a statement saying they are "closely monitoring" the events.
"At this time, there is no specific or credible threat to the United States," the DHS statement said.
According to a White House official, Obama has been briefed on the situation by Lisa Monaco, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism.
Obama said Friday the American people "stand together with [the French people] in the fight against terrorism and extremism."
"We're going to do whatever it takes to work with the French people [and other nations] ... to bring these terrorists to justice," he said.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter also has been briefed on the attack, according to Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook.
"At this point in time we are not aware of any DoD personnel involved in this tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with the French people at this difficult moment," Cook said.
The attack comes as France has heightened security measures ahead of a major global climate conference that starts in two weeks, out of fear of violent protests and potential terrorist attacks.

Ted Cruz urges border wall in immigration plan, ramps up attacks on Rubio

Ted Cruz unveiled a hard-line immigration plan on Friday that includes a border wall as he also ramped up attacks on rival Marco Rubio, saying the Florida senator stood "shoulder to shoulder" with lawmakers in support of a "massive amnesty plan" for illegal immigrants. 
"Immigration is an issue that divides this country, it is an issue that divides the Republican Party," Cruz, a Texas senator, said during a rally with supporters in Orlando.
The Cruz plan includes everything from building a complete southern border wall to ending birthright citizenship to halting legal immigration when unemployment gets “unacceptably high.”
"I will complete the wall," Cruz vows in the plan, endorsing an objective that Donald Trump has been touting for months.
Shortly before releasing the document, Cruz zeroed in on Republican presidential rival Rubio, who is third in most national polls and narrowly ahead of Cruz.
"Listen, I like Marco a lot, he is charming and he's very well-liked in Washington," Cruz told Fox News right before hitting the stage. "But at the end of the day, where you stand on the issues speaks volumes."
Cruz accused Rubio of being the "point of the spear" for the bipartisan "Gang of Eight" senators who tried to come up with a comprehensive immigration policy in 2013 and failed. He accused Rubio of standing "shoulder to shoulder" with them.
"Where you stood up and lined up on the Gang of Eight bill was a time for choosing," Cruz later said during the rally. Without naming names, he blasted Republicans who support giving law-abiding illegal immigrants a path to citizenship. "There is nothing compassionate about a politician saying I am so compassionate I am willing to give away your jobs."
Rubio shot back on Friday. "On the immigration front, as I said, I'm puzzled and quite frankly surprised by Ted's attacks since Ted's position on immigration is not much different than mine," Rubio told reporters after his own speech Friday. "He's a supporter of legalizing people who are in this country illegally. If he's changed that position, then someone has a right to change his position on the issue but he should be clear about that."
When asked about this Friday, Cruz quipped, "I have to say, when I heard that I laughed out loud. I understand why he regrets having taken the position he did. To say we are on the same [page] on the immigration issue is to say my position and Barack Obama's position on health care is the same."
Cruz, meanwhile, said President Obama lacks the "will" to build a complete wall along the southern border and as president he would  “build a wall that works," along with tripling the number of border agents, increasing surveillance, and adding biometric screening at entry checkpoints.
Further, Cruz says he would prevent illegal immigrants from receiving financial benefits and strengthen E-Verify for employers. He would suspend the issuance of all H-1B (employment) visas for 180 days for audit to ensure it is not being abused. He would also require that anyone coming in with an H-1B visa have an advanced degree, and prevent employers bringing these visa holders in from laying off domestic workers for a set period of time.
Cruz's position on high-skilled visas represents a complete about-face on one of his long-held immigration stances.
During the Senate immigration debate two years ago, the Texas senator was an outspoken advocate for increasing legal immigration, particularly for highly skilled immigrants. He called legal immigration "a pillar of our nation's heritage and strength" and introduced amendments to double the cap on legal immigration and increase the number of high-skilled immigrant visas by 500 percent.
Perhaps most radically in the new plan, Cruz says he would halt “any increases in legal immigration so long as American unemployment remains unacceptably high.” He would also enforce the “public-charge” doctrine, which would force immigrants to certify they are self-sufficient before they are given permission to live in the U.S. “The purpose of legal immigration should be to grow the economy, not displace American workers,” he said. “Under no circumstances should legal immigration levels be adjusted upwards so long as work-force participation rates remain below historical levels.”
He would also take steps to pass legislation or pursue a constitutional amendment to end “birthright citizenship,” which grants citizenship to any child born on U.S. soil.
Cruz also said he will “end President Obama’s illegal amnesty” by rescinding any executive orders allowing people who are here illegally to stay, and end any federal support for cities with so-called “sanctuary policies” which he said “make a mockery of our laws and endanger our citizens.”
On Syrian refugees, Cruz was unequivocal. "They need to be settled in the Middle East and majority Muslim countries," not in the U.S., where "it makes no sense whatsoever." He suggested that most of the refugees entering Europe from the war zones are "young men" and among them could be members of the Islamic State.
"It is lunacy to bring refugees into this country who may be terrorists trying to murder Americans," he said.