Congress

GOP congressman proposes deporting all non-citizens on the terror watch list

By Vera Bergengruen

vbergengruen@mcclatchydc.com

September 28, 2016 06:27 PM

The FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. Photo taken on June 21, 2016. Tong Wu McClatchy
WASHINGTON

Rep. Jeff Duncan calls it “No-fly, goodbye,” but the official name is the Terrorist Deportation Act.

The South Carolina Republican introduced legislation Tuesday that would deport all non-citizens living in the United States who are on the terror watch lists, revoking their visas and bans them from re-entering the country.

It's wrong to respond to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Fort Hood, Boston, Chattanooga, Little Rock, San Bernardino, Orlando, St. Cloud and Chelsea by punishing innocent, law-abiding Americans.

Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C.

“Freeing up law enforcement resources by reducing the number of people residing in the United States who are suspected of terrorism will keep America safer,” Duncan said Wednesday in a statement.

The watch list, formally called the Terrorist Screening Database, is combined from several sources and is much larger than the no-fly list. Duncan argued Wednesday that individuals in that database have already been deemed likely to be involved with terrorist activity by the Department of Homeland Security.

September 14, 2016
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A bipartisan bill backed by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., this summer sought to prevent people on the no-fly list from buying firearms. The “no-fly, no buy” legislation was shot down by Republicans worried that possible errors on the list could result in innocent Americans losing their Second Amendment rights.

The push for the gun law came after an attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando in June, which left 49 people dead. The 29-year-old shooter, Omar Mateen, had previously been on the watch list.

Duncan criticized the “false narrative on gun control” and said the focus should be on potential terrorists themselves instead of their methods.

“It is important to remember that radical Islamic terrorists will use any and every tool at their disposal to kill those who oppose their beliefs; whether it is an airplane, a boat, truck, pressure cooker, knife or a gun,” he said Wednesday.

The consolidated terror watch list has more than 1 million names. The FBI estimates that less than 1 percent of the people on these lists are U.S. persons, meaning citizens or those living legally in the United States.

“This is the better way. Rather than harming the Second Amendment rights of American citizens, this bill will ensure that non-citizens suspected of terrorist ties are removed from the country,” Duncan said.

Vera Bergengruen: 202-383-6036, @verambergen