Mitt Romney: It Is ‘Our National Character’ to Welcome People Who Seek Asylum

Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that it was part of American’s “national character” to accept refugees seeking asylum.

Anchor Jake Tapper said, “Your home state of Utah is welcoming Afghan refugees, as I would expect, from Utah. But many conservative voices, including Republican lawmakers, have been speaking out against letting Afghans come into the country. Congressman Matt Rosendale said this crisis, quote, ‘Is not an excuse to flood our country with refugees from Afghanistan and on and on.’ How do you think the majority of the Republicans in the House and Senate would vote when asked if the U.S. should accept Afghan refugees?”

Romney said, “I don’t really know, of course. I believe in their heart of hearts that they recognize that we have a moral responsibility, and in keeping with our national character, we welcome people into our country who seek asylum, and those particularly who have fought alongside our troops and have enabled our troops to have a higher degree of safety than they would have had otherwise. Those are people to whom we owe a debt of gratitude, and we would welcome them into our country. I think it’s one of the characteristics of our great nation. We are a nation that welcomes with open arms our friends around the world. We’re talking 10,000, 20,000, 30,000, maybe 50,000 Afghans. How many are coming across the border illegally? That number is exceeded almost every month. So let’s put this in perspective. I, for one, am very pleased we’ll have individuals that come to our country that can contribute to America and believe in the principles upon which it was founded.”

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