When taking refugees U.S should learn from Germany’s mistakes

After the tragic Dec. 19^th terrorist attack at the Berlin Christmas market the German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere announced new tough measures to combat jihadi extremism in Germany. Some of the proposals include making Islamic extremists wear ankle bracelets and extending detention periods prior to deportation. The Interior Ministry is also planning to repatriate over 12,000 Afghan migrants whose pleas for asylum was rejected.

This is the state of Germany after Chancellor Angela Merkel allowed more than 1 million refugees to enter the country in 2015. This open-border policy probably endangered the security of Germany and serves as a warning to the incoming Trump Administration not to repeat Merkel’s mistakes.

Although obviously not all refugees that arrived in Europe are Islamic terrorists the Investigative Project on Terrorism shows that jihadists have been successful in infiltrating the ranks of refugees. The resulting terrorist attacks are likely only part of a much larger plan. The wider aim of these radicals is probably to impose sharia law and Islamic customs upon the secular governments of Western Europe.

Berlin has since strengthened border controls, but the damage had been done. The Cologne New Year’s attacks demonstrate the ability of an inassimilable refugee population to result in disorder and harm public safety. European populations faced this problem on a smaller scale before, but the recent influx has only made the problem worse.

The U.S. might face similar problems if we are not careful. Data released by Senators Jeff Sessions and Ted Cruz revealed that hundreds of US terror plots originated with foreign-born terrorists, including several refugees. Americans should not be forced to face danger from possible Islamic terrorists coming to the country disguised as refugees. To prevent the US from facing Germany’s current problems President-elect Trump should stick to his campaign promises regarding refugees and immigration reform.

Some of the proposed measures include suspending “the issuance of visas to any place where adequate screening cannot occur” such as war-torn Syria and Libya and instituting stronger vetting procedures for refugees.

These screening measures should allow U.S. officials in government agencies like the Department of Homeland Security, which are responsible for screening refugees, to better identify potential Islamic terrorists and deny them entry.

Such measures should lessen the possibility of jihadists coming in with Syrian refugees. This will allow the Trump Administration to concentrate on the growing difficulty of homegrown jihadists, as evidenced by the tragedies in San Bernardino and Orlando. For decades American-raised Muslims have faced indoctrination by Muslim Brotherhood front organizations that oppose efforts by Muslims to assimilate into American society in favor of imposing Sharia, Islamic law. Some of them go on to support jihadist violence.

Closing the borders to un-vetted refugees would also help in the effort to reverse the risk of the assimilation problems currently faced in Europe.

Obviously, not all refugees who want asylum in America are jihadists, or Islamists who want to impose sharia law. However, some are, and many more are susceptible to being influenced and indoctrinated by Islamist groups. The Trump Administration should act as soon as possible to prevent future tragedies and to avoid the kinds of tough measures now becoming increasingly necessary throughout Europe.