2016 presidential candidates on Syrian refugees

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2016 Presidential Election Date: November 8, 2016

Candidates Winner: Donald Trump (R) Hillary Clinton (D) • Jill Stein (G) • Gary Johnson (L) • Vice presidential candidates

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For information about refugee policy under the Trump administration, click here.

The overview of the issue below was current as of the 2016 election.
The 2016 presidential candidates quickly took to Twitter and their websites to release statements expressing their support for the people of France after members of the Islamic State (ISIS) killed at least 129 people and wounded more than 350 during a terrorist attack that occurred at six separate locations in Paris on November 13, 2015.

After reports surfaced showing that one of the terrorists responsible for the attacks in Paris may have traveled to France posing as a Syrian refugee, Obama’s plan to allow 10,000 new Syrian refugees into the United States was criticized by most of the GOP candidates. More than half of the country's governors—including former Republican presidential candidates Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Donald Trump's 2016 running mate Indiana Gov. Mike Pence—announced that their states would not accept Syrian refugees.

Some governors said that they would reconsider the ban only after the Obama administration reviewed its procedures for allowing Syrian refugees into the country. According to American University law professor Stephen I. Vladeck, states cannot legally refuse to accept the refugees, but they can choose to not cooperate, which is what Kasich and Jindal said they would to do.

See what the 2016 candidates and their respective party platforms said about Syrian refugees below.

OVERVIEW OF CANDIDATE POSITIONS

Hillary Clinton rejected calls to refuse Syrian refugees in the U.S.

Donald Trump expressed support for surveilling mosques in the U.S. for jihadist rhetoric, potentially closing mosques, and establishing a "total and complete shutdown” of Muslims entering the U.S.

Jill Stein supported accepting 100,000 Syrian refugees in the U.S.

Gary Johnson opposed military intervention in Syria and said the U.S. should take its "fair share" of Syrian refugees.

Democratic ticket

Hillary Clinton

• On November 23, 2015, Hillary Clinton said that it was “not smart” to summarily reject Muslim refugees because of its potential impact on law enforcement. She said, “If you're in law enforcement ... you want the people in the communities that you are looking to get information from to feel like they want to help you. And if the message from people who are running for president, for example, is that we don't want to take any Muslims whatsoever, that's not good for law enforcement."

• Clinton gave a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations on November 19, 2015, where she ejected calls to refuse Syrian refugees in the U.S. She said, “Turning away orphans, applying a religious test, discriminating against Muslims, slamming the door on every Syrian refugee—that is just not who we are. We are better than that. And remember, many of these refugees are fleeing the same terrorists who threaten us. It would be a cruel irony indeed if ISIS can force families from their homes, and then also prevent them from ever finding new ones. We should be doing more to ease this humanitarian crisis, not less. We should lead the international community in organizing a donor conference and supporting countries like Jordan, who are sheltering the majority of refugees fleeing Syria.”

• At a campaign event in Dallas on November 17, 2015, Clinton expressed her support for allowing Syrian refugees into the country. She said, "We have always welcomed immigrants and refugees. We have made people feel that if they did their part, they sent their kids to school, they worked hard, there would be a place for them in America."
• Read more of Hillary Clinton's public statements on 2016 campaign issues.

The 2016 Democratic Party Platform on Syrian refugees

“ Syria The Syrian crisis is heartbreaking and dangerous, and its impact is threatening the region, Europe, and beyond. Donald Trump would inflame the conflict by alienating our allies, inexplicably allowing ISIS to expand in Syria, and potentially starting a wider war. This is a reckless approach. Democrats will instead root out ISIS and other terrorist groups and bring together the moderate Syrian opposition, international community, and our regional allies to reach a negotiated political transition that ends Assad’s rule. Given the immense scale of human suffering in Syria, it is also imperative that we lead the international community in providing greater humanitarian assistance to the civilian victims of war in Syria and Iraq, especially displaced refugees. ” —2016 Democratic Platform

Tim Kaine

• Tim Kaine called for establishing safe zones to protect civilian lives and supply lines for food, water, and medical supplies in Syria. In 2014, he led an effort in the Senate to pass the Syrian Humanitarian Resolution. It called for fully implementing UN Security Council Resolution 2139 to ease the delivery of humanitarian aid to Syrians. The resolution also pressed the Obama administration to submit to Congress a comprehensive strategy to address the Syrian humanitarian crisis.

• Kaine said that the U.S. had a moral responsibility to take in more Syrian refugees. On May 21, 2016, Kaine and a dozen senators wrote to President Barack Obama requesting that the U.S. accept “at least 50 percent of Syrian refugees whom UNHCR [United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees] is seeking to resettle.” They also wrote, "Indeed, we cannot expect countries hosting Syrian refugees to continue shouldering such a disproportionate burden if the United States and other industrialized countries do not begin resettling many more Syrian refugees."

• On May 18, 2016, Kaine and 25 U.S. Senate colleagues wrote to President Obama urging him to meet his administration's commitment to resettle at least 10,000 Syrian refugees in the United States. "We write to express our strong support for resettling Syrian refugees in the United States and to urge your Administration to make every effort to meet your commitment to accept at least 10,000 Syrian refugees in fiscal year 2016,” the senators wrote. “Nonetheless, we are deeply concerned about the slow pace of admissions for Syrian refugees in the first seven months of the fiscal year. During this timeframe only 1,736 Syrian refugees were admitted to the United States. By contrast, more than 6,000 refugees have been admitted from Burma, more than 5,000 refugees have been admitted from both the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia, and more than 4,000 refugees have been admitted from Iraq.” The senators also noted that “refugees are the most carefully vetted of all travelers to the United States” and “no refugees are admitted until after successful completion of [a] stringent security screening regime.”

• During hearings in both the Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees on January 20, 2016, Kaine asked witnesses whether they believed ISIL or Syrian refugees were a bigger enemy to the United States. That day he also voted against the American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act. After casting his vote, he said in a statement, “Today I voted against consideration of a bill that would have labeled millions of innocent people fleeing the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II as enemies of the United States. Instead of allowing amendments that would actually keep Americans safer – including closing the terrorist gun loophole and increasing funding for anti-terror efforts by local law enforcement and airport security – Republicans would rather talk tough for political gain while doing nothing to strengthen our security." He also said, "If Congress was really serious about keeping America ‘secure against foreign enemies’ we would be voting to authorize the war against our real enemy – ISIL. A debate and vote in Congress would show both our allies and adversaries that we are unified in our resolve against ISIL and committed to defeating the terrorist threat, while also sending an important signal of support to the more than 3,500 U.S. servicemembers we’ve deployed into harm’s way over the past 18 months.”

• Read more of Tim Kaine's public statements on 2016 campaign issues.

Republican ticket

Donald Trump

• Trump said that he would be comfortable personally telling Syrian refugee children that they were not permitted to come to the U.S., during a town hall meeting on February 8, 2016. "I can look at their faces and say, 'Look, you can't come here.’ … Their parents should always stay with them. But we don't know where their parents come from. We have no documentation whatsoever. There's absolutely no way of saying where these people come from,” Trump said, before recommending a “safe zone” be created in Syria for refugees.

• Trump criticized German Chancellor Angela Merkel for permitting Syrian refugees to settle in Germany after the Paris terrorist attacks. He said, "As far as Merkel's concerned, she ought to be ashamed of herself, what she's done. … She blew it, when she allowed this to happen, this migration."

• At a rally in Beaumont, Texas, Trump discussed allowing Syrian refugees into the U.S. after reports said that one of the terrorist who carried out the attacks in Paris posed as a Syrian refugee. Trump said, "We all have heart and we all want people taken care of, but with the problems our country has, to take in 250,000—some of whom are going to have problems, big problems—is just insane. We have to be insane. Terrible."
• Read more of Donald Trump's public statements on 2016 campaign issues.

The 2016 Republican Party Platform on Syrian refugees

“ A Republican administration will restore our nation’s credibility. We must stand up for our friends, challenge our foes, and destroy ISIS. Hezbollah, controlling over 100,000 missiles in Lebanon, must be isolated and Lebanon’s independence restored. We will support the transition to a post-Assad Syrian government that is representative of its people, protects the rights of all minorities and religions, respects the territorial integrity of its neighbors, and contributes to peace and stability in the region. The Iraqi people have been on the front lines in the fight against terror. Hundreds of thousands have been killed, and the attacks against them continue, even in Baghdad. Our partnership with them should continue as long as ISIS and others like it survive in the region. We are deeply concerned that, in the face of genocide against them, Christian communities in cities like Erbil are receiving no financial support from either the U.S. government or the UN to help with displaced persons and urban refugees. Their survival is sustained only by private charities. This must change immediately. Defeating ISIS means more than pushing back its fighters while abandoning its victims. It must mean aiding those who have suffered the most — and doing so before they starve. It means supporting the long-term survival of indigenous religious and ethnic communities, punishing the perpetrators of crimes against humanity, and conditioning humanitarian and military assistance to governments on their observable commitment to human rights. We continue to support the Kurdish people, whose bravery and cooperation with our forces merit our respect and their autonomy. Many countries in the region have given, and continue to give, substantial assistance to the United States because they understand that our struggle against terrorism is not an ethnic or religious fight. They consider violent extremists to be abusers of their faith, not its champions. We applaud their courage and value their counsel. The U.S. government, together with its global partners, should mobilize its political, economic, and military assets to support the creation of a safe haven in northern Iraq to protect those ethnic and religious minorities continuing to face genocide at the hands of ISIS. ” —2016 Republican Platform

Mike Pence

• After the November 13, 2015, terror attacks in Paris, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) issued a directive to state agencies to halt the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the state. In July 2016, Pence appeared on "60 Minutes" and said, “In Indiana, we suspended the Syrian refugee program" following the terrorist attack in Paris. According to The Washington Post, one family that was set to resettle in Indiana was redirected to Connecticut after Pence’s November 2015 announcement. On February 29, 2016, a federal judge blocked Pence's directive blocking state agencies from helping Syrian refugees resettle in Indiana. The judge said Pence's order "clearly discriminates" against Syrian refugees. Judge Tanya Walton Pratt found that Pence’s directive “clearly constitutes national origin discrimination” in a policy of “punishing Syrian refugees already in Indiana in the hopes that no more will come.”
  • Also according to The Washington Post, as of late August 2016, 140 Syrian refugees have resettled in Indiana and more are expected.
• Refugee resettlement groups in Indianapolis ignored Pence’s November 2015 order. During a meeting in December 2015, Pence told Archbishop Joseph Tobin he was "concerned that Syrian refugees could pose a security risk and that the United States has not put proper screening procedures in place."
• Discussing Pence's November 2015 directive, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller (R) wrote, “Governor Pence has merely suspended, in part, a discretionary federal grant program.” Zoeller continued, “This is meant as a deterrent, but if those agencies wish to resettle those refugees regardless, the Governor will not take further actions (besides denying their claims) to stop them.”
• Pence sought to withhold federal funding from groups in Indiana that help Syrian refugees obtain services and training.

• Read more of Mike Pence's public statements on 2016 campaign issues.

Green ticket

Jill Stein

• In an interview with teleSUR on November 3, 2015, Jill Stein discussed the approach she would take with refugees. She said, "We need to pitch-in proportional to our ability to do so. We need to do our part for emergency relief and we need to accept our portion of the refugees." Stein continued, "There are refugee associations calling on the U.S. to accept, I believe, 100,000 (Syrians) and that’s the figure we need to be talking about. And we need to put out the welcome mat and, I would say, this is with regard to the refugees who are already in the country as well -- the refugees from Latin America that we are holding in detention centers. Women and children who are being held in family detention. This is an absolute human rights outrage that people who we have forced into becoming refugees are being criminalized. It’s very clear to see how in the way we’re treating children fleeing from Honduras and Guatemala how they’ve been criminalized. And I think we’re treating Syrian refugees not quite that bad, but almost that bad, and we need to recognize the human rights of refugees and do so on an emergency basis."
• Read more of Jill Stein's public statements on 2016 campaign issues.

The 2016 Green Party Platform on refugees

“ J. Immigration/ Emigration Immigration and particularly the large number of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. has become a hot political issue. Laws to oppress immigrants have been proposed in the Congress. Millions of immigrants and supporters of justice for immigrants have marched in the streets. Politicians have stirred up anti-immigrant sentiment among sections of the U.S. population. It also must be acknowledged that the trigger for such an influx of immigrants in this country has been largely due to unfair US trade policies. If it were economically possible to provide for their families many would choose to remain in their native countries. Any immigration policy should be seen a way to address all people's humanitarian needs as we undo the damage to local communities and chart a course toward sustainable local economies. The Green Party stands firmly for social justice for all those living in this country regardless of their immigration status. Above all, policy and law must be humane. Anything less would be inconsistent with our Green Values, and with our nation's values. The Green Party accepts as a goal a world in which persons can freely choose to live in and work in any county he or she desires. We recognize that this would be impractical without reciprocity between nations. We seek that reciprocity as a practical goal. Countries do have a right to know the identity of persons seeking to enter. They also have the right to limit who can come in to protect public safety. The U.S. needs a complete overhaul of its immigration laws. Our current situation has created extreme social injustice. Millions of people are living and working in the U.S. with no legal status, making them subject to extreme exploitation and abuse. Immigration raids are terrorizing the immigrant community. Families are being broken up. Employer abuses of undocumented workers are rampant. The Green Party must consider immigration issues from an international standpoint, taking into account international labor and environmental standards, and human rights. The following proposals may not yield perfect answers, but they provide better answers than the status quo. We must recognize that there cannot be any true solutions to the conflicts created by immigration until we are able to organize globally to overcome the power of multinational corporations, which are engaged in an unending campaign to drive down workers' living standards everywhere. International cooperation and solidarity among labor organizations, to advance the rights of labor and raise such living standards globally, are essential to combat this trend. Until the power of the multinationals is curbed, we will continue to be confronted with seemingly 'no win' choices. While working toward that goal, we propose the following immigration policies, consistent with the Ten Key Values. 1. Policy Reform The undocumented immigrants who are already residing and working in the United States, and their families, should be granted a legal status which includes the chance to become U.S. citizens. Persons should be excluded from this process only if they present a clear and present danger to other members of our society. The level of fees required for this process should not be a burden on low-income workers. In any path to citizenship created to provide an orderly and appropriate resolution of the status of persons currently in the United States without proper documentation, we demand a recognition of past, uncredited payments into the Social Security System as part of any fees assessed for regularization of status. In regard to who should have a right to come and live and work in the U.S. we believe the following policies are fair: a. The Green Party calls for permanent border passes to all citizens of Mexico and Canada whose identity can be traced and verified. The 'matricula consular' should be accepted as one means of proving one's identity. Work permits for citizens of Mexico and Canada must be easily obtainable, thereby decriminalizing the act of gainful employment. This action would help eliminate exploitation of undocumented persons by criminals engaged in human contraband (coyotes) and unethical employers. It would also help ensure that taxes will be paid in each corresponding nation per its laws. These measures will also help temporary residents from Mexico and Canada to secure driving privileges and liability insurance. b. All persons fleeing political, racial, religious, or other types of persecution must be welcomed and given permanent resident status. The history of arbitrary denial of political asylum claims must be ended. Particular attention should be given to those minorities who are political exiles and refugees and those whose lives would be at risk if asylum is not granted. c. Family reunification must be a priority in accepting applications for permanent residency. The years of waiting that families are currently put through must be ended. d. Permanent residency should not be denied based on political views, racial or national origin, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, disability, or any other arbitrary basis. e. There are many countries in the world where the economic policies and military actions of the U.S. government or U.S. based corporations have caused extreme hardships. The peoples of these countries deserve special consideration if they wish to come to the U.S. to escape intolerable conditions created by our government or U.S. corporations. f. We must keep faith with our commitment to the United Nations, to assist in the resettlement, including to our own country, of refugees currently stranded in refugee camps in other parts of the world. g. All those who are issued work permits must have the option to come and go from the U.S. as they desire. They must also have the option of remaining in the U.S. and becoming U.S. Citizens. ” —2016 Green Party Platform

Ajamu Baraka

• In an October 3, 2016, interview with The Real News Network, Sharmini Peries said that a ceasefire in Syria "really is dependent on the United States and Russia being able to bring and convince all of its proxies participating in Syria to some order." She asked Baraka, "How does the Green Party plan to deal with this problem if you were in power?" Baraka replied, "I think it’s clear that every force involved in this conflict has to be part of any solution including the current Syrian government. This notion that the US and Russia will determine the fate of Syrian people to me is a unworkable position. It is a position that denies the voice of the Syrian people and it is a position that has a colonial character that I reject. So if there’s going to be a real resolution then those forces have to be at the table. But at the centerpiece of that has to be the legitimate government of Syria."
• Baraka briefly discussed Syrian refugees and political leaders in the U.S. in his December 16, 2015, article posted on his Black Agenda Report blog. After describing the hypocrisy of U.S. political leaders as "galling," Baraka wrote, "That is why the hypocrisy of political leaders in the U.S. is so galling. The de-valuation of Arab and Muslim lives has been an operative principle of U.S. policies in the Middle-East since it became the hegemonic power in the region. There is not much space between Hillary Clinton’s joke about the murder of Muammar Gaddafy—“We came, we saw, he died”—which of course took place during a murderous NATO assault on Libya that by conservative estimates killed tens of thousands, and the positions of various governors on the issue of Syrian refugees and even with Donald Trump’s latest proposal to temporarily ban Muslim immigration."
• In an article largely about bombings in Yemen and their impact on the Yemeni people, Baraka wrote, "And while U.S. propagandists are preparing the people for an even more direct intervention into Syria, using the absurd pretext that somehow the imposition of a “no fly zone” is an appropriate response to the humanitarian concerns of refugee flows from Syria to Europe, the humanitarian emergency created by the war in Yemen is largely uncovered and outside the bounds of polite conversation in the U.S."
• In an essay published online on June 4, 2014, by CounterPunch, Baraka said the West and the corporate media had "carefully cultivated" a narrative on Syria which described the conflict as "a courageous fight on the part of the majority of the Syrian people against the brutal dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad. As the story goes, the al-Assad “regime,” (it is never referred to as a government), can only maintain its power through the use of force. By attacking “its own citizens,” the regime, representing the minority Alawite community, can only maintain its dominance over the rest of the country through sheer terror." Baraka said that this narrative was undermined when "Western corporate news outlets, especially in the U.S., were unable to explain the huge turnout of Syrian refugees voting in Lebanon preceding the election on Tuesday, so they just decided not to cover it. Images of Syrians displaced by war yet backing al Assad for president did not support the carefully crafted story that the only people fleeting war were those who had been terrorized to do so by the government."
• Read more about Ajamu Baraka.

Libertarian ticket

Gary Johnson

• In an interview with Reason in November 2015, Johnson criticized drone strikes. He said, "When it comes to drones, I think it makes a bad situation even worse. We end up killing innocents and fueling hatred as opposed to containing it. It just hasn't worked." He also briefly discussed the Syrian refugee crisis, saying, "We need to take our share, and I'm not sure what that share should be. I'd like to come up with a formula based on our coalition partners. I wouldn't say zero, but I don't know if 65,000 puts us in the category of 'our fair share.'"

• Read more of Gary Johnson's public statements on 2016 campaign issues.

The 2016 Libertarian Party Platform on terrorism

“ American foreign policy should seek an America at peace with the world. Our foreign policy should emphasize defense against attack from abroad and enhance the likelihood of peace by avoiding foreign entanglements. We would end the current U.S. government policy of foreign intervention, including military and economic aid. We recognize the right of all people to resist tyranny and defend themselves and their rights. We condemn the use of force, and especially the use of terrorism, against the innocent, regardless of whether such acts are committed by governments or by political or revolutionary groups. ” —2016 Libertarian Party Platform

Bill Weld

• Speaking to students at Emerson College on September 8, 2016, Weld said that the Libertarian Party focuses on "soft power and cultural diplomacy, rather than military intervention" in its approach to foreign policy. He also said that it can be difficult to tell the difference between a civil war and genocide in a country like Syria. For Libertarians, he said, any military intervention should be linked to "an attack on the United States as opposed to something terrible that's happening in another country."
• Read more about Bill Weld.

Withdrawn candidates

Democrats

• Lincoln Chafee on Syrian refugees
• Martin O'Malley on Syrian refugees
• Bernie Sanders on Syrian refugees
• Jim Webb on Syrian refugees

Republicans

• Jeb Bush on Syrian refugees
• Ben Carson on Syrian refugees
• Chris Christie on Syrian refugees
• Ted Cruz on Syrian refugees
• Carly Fiorina on Syrian refugees
• Lindsey Graham on Syrian refugees
• Mike Huckabee on Syrian refugees
• Bobby Jindal on Syrian refugees
• John Kasich on Syrian refugees
• Rand Paul on Syrian refugees
• Marco Rubio on Syrian refugees
• Rick Santorum on Syrian refugees
• Scott Walker on Syrian refugees

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 2016 Presidential candidates on Syrian refugees. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

2016 presidential candidates on Syrian refugees - Google News

See also

• Presidential candidates, 2016
• 2016 presidential candidates on foreign affairs

External links

• ProCon.org's "Should the United States Allow Syrian Refugees into the Country?"