Raskin Statement on Ted Cruz's Comments

Statement

State Senator and District 8 Congressional Candidate Jamie Raskin released the following statement today in the wake of terrorist attacks in Brussels and Ted Cruz's statements that law enforcement should "patrol and secure" Muslim neighborhoods:

"The recent savage terrorist attacks on the people of Brussels by suicide bombers are another assault on the civilized world by the terrorist death cult which calls itself the Islamic State. My heart goes out to the people of Brussels, a city I love, and I know all freedom-loving people on earth express solidarity with the people of Europe as they confront resurgent terror and barbarism on their land."

"Meantime, Republican presidential candidates play into the hands of Islamic State terrorists by conflating their grim and violent theocratic cult with hundreds of millions of Muslims all over the world who reject their sickening extremism and authoritarianism. When Donald Trump renews his absurd call for a total ban on Muslims entering the United States, he is only trafficking in bigotry and opportunism. Taken as a security proposal, it is ridiculous because (1) any terrorist can (and will) falsely claim to be of any religious faith he or she needs to in order to pursue terrorism and (2) it is plainly an act of polarizing and embittering discrimination to exclude countless millions of innocent people from setting foot in America simply because they are Muslim.

"And when Ted Cruz seeks to "empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized,' he is proposing a form of naked religious and ethnic profiling totally at odds with our Constitutional values. When young white males blew up the Oklahoma federal building in 1995, we followed every possible lead to find the perpetrators and their accomplices but we did not "patrol and secure' white or Christian neighborhoods. These Republican candidates are effectively disqualifying themselves for the job of President of the United States because they are, wittingly or not, betraying our basic constitutional values."

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