U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Alabama, on Monday issued a strong statement of support for President Donald Trump’s travel and immigration ban, describing it as prioritizing the “the security of American citizens first.”
Rogers, who represents Auburn in Congress, has spoken to officials from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, who have admitted there is a “crisis of confidence” in the vetting process of refugees, the statement read.
“Americans’ safety is at stake if we continue to allow people in from countries with known terror activity,” Rogers said. “Until there is a new and effective refugee vetting process in place, this executive order is necessary.”
The ban, put into place by an executive order signed by Trump on Friday, suspended refugee arrivals for 120 days and restricted citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the country for 90 days.
It banned refugees from Syria indefinitely.
The executive order inspired protests at airports around the country Sunday, including one at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport that reportedly drew thousands. Another protest was held at the Montgomery Regional Airport on Monday evening. It drew several hundred.
On Monday, Auburn University President Jay Gouge released a statement recommending that University students, faculty, staff and dependents potentially affected by the executive order refrain from traveling outside the U.S., as they face the risk of being denied re-entry into the country.
Rogers reintroduced the American Sovereignty Restoration Act for the new session in the House of Representatives earlier this month. The bill proposes a withdrawal of the U.S. from the United Nations.
In a separate statement released last week, Rogers described the U.N. as a “wasteful bureaucracy that actively works against American values and does not deserve to be subsidized by the U.S. taxpayer.”
Rogers’ previous submissions of the bill failed to gather strong support, but Trump’s public criticisms of the U.N. has led to wider publicity of this year’s version.
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