Trump says refugees have IS-funded phones, fears another 9/11

"Our country has enough difficulty right now without letting the Syrians pour in," he says.

May 16, 2016 05:51 pm | Updated September 18, 2016 01:32 pm IST - WASHINGTON:

“They [refugees] all have cell phones, so they don’t have money, they don’t have anything, they have cell phones. Who pays their monthly charges, right? They have cell phones with the flags, the IS flags on them,” says Republican front-runner Donald Trump.

“They [refugees] all have cell phones, so they don’t have money, they don’t have anything, they have cell phones. Who pays their monthly charges, right? They have cell phones with the flags, the IS flags on them,” says Republican front-runner Donald Trump.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has warned of a 9/11-like attack on the United States if refugees continue to be allowed into the country and alleged that they carry Islamic State-funded cell phones.

“Our country has enough difficulty right now without letting the Syrians pour in,” the 69-year-old real estate tycoon told the National Border Patrol Council podcast.

On The Green Line podcast, Mr. Trump also suggested the IS is paying for the refugees’ cell phone plans.

No money, so who pays the charges?

“They all have cell phones so they don’t have money, they don’t have anything, they have cell phones. Who pays their monthly charges, right? They have cell phones with the flags, the IS flags on them,” he alleged.

“And then we’re supposed to say, ‘Isn’t this wonderful that we’re taking them in?’ We’re led by people that are either incompetent or they don’t have the best interest of our country at heart,” Mr. Trump said.

Sounds another 9/11 siren

When asked if he thought it would take an attack similar to 9/11 for the country to “wake up about border security,” Mr. Trump answered in the affirmative.

“Bad things will happen; a lot of bad things will happen. There will be attacks that you wouldn’t believe. There will be attacks by the people that are right now coming in to our country,” he warned.

Coming to Hillary …

Mr. Trump also spoke about Hillary Clinton’s agenda for immigration reform and his own plans for border control, including his proposal to build a wall at the Southern border with Mexico.

The National Border Control agents’ union made its first-ever endorsement of a presidential candidate when it backed Mr. Trump in March.

The U-turn on Muslims

Mr. Trump had proposed a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States,” in December but just this week he said the ban was “only a suggestion.”

Mr. Trump has also said that he may set up a counter- terrorism commission to study his immigration policies and his controversial proposal to ban foreign Muslims from entering the U.S. until America’s security has been assured.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.