Exclusive: Ryan Zinke Has ‘Zero Confidence’ in Biden Administration’s Migrant Vetting

Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT), who introduced legislation on Thursday to halt Palestinians from entering the United States, told Sirius XM’s Breitbart News Saturday he has “zero confidence” in the Biden Administration’s ability to vet migrants and foreign nationals.

The legislation would also revoke “any entrance of covered aliens who were granted visas or entered the United States on or after October 1.”

Zinke joined Breitbart News Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle on the program to discuss his bill, the Safeguarding Americans from Extremism (SAFE) Act. 

“This is the harshest immigration bill, targeted not so much at Gaza, but on this administration’s incompetency to vet anybody,” Zinke said. “I have zero confidence in this administration. They didn’t vet leaving out of Afghanistan. They certainly don’t vet at our southern border, and we know in Gaza, there are known terrorists in there, and there is no vetting. So this is the harshest bill, all stop; anyone with a Palestinian Authority passport, you’re out of here.”

Afghans gathering on a road near the military part of the airport in Kabul on August 20, 2021, and (bottom) the same area of the airport taken on August 3, 2022. – Tens of thousands of Afghan men, women and children rushed to Kabul’s airport a year ago in a desperate bid to flee the advancing Taliban, who seized power on August 15, 2021. Images of crowds storming parked planes, climbing atop aircraft and some clinging to a departing US military cargo plane as it rolled down the runway were aired in news bulletins around the world. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP)

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“Israel’s on fire right here, and they’re they’re going to be hit probably on both sides, and we too are vulnerable, and we got to step up the plate and say, look, from this region right now, all stop,” he added. 

Boyle asked the congressman if he was concerned about the possibility of Lebanese foreign nationals in the United States with potential Hezbollah connections or Houthi-connected Yemenis.  

“We all should be concerned,” Zinke cautioned. “Look, there are hundreds of people on the terrorist watchlist that we found; who knows how many we haven’t, and their sympathizers. We see it in the halls of Congress. I have nothing against the Palestinian people; I really don’t. To me, innocent are innocent, and I follow the book of Matthew, but I can tell you what, in this case, Israel’s on fire, and we don’t have any vetting because this administration is not capable of vetting and they have shown that they do not vet.”

Boyle also asked for his perspective on the potential for sleeper cells to already be in the United States, considering the influx of illegal immigration at the U.S. Southern border, where migrants from all over the world have entered. Zinke pointed to the Secure the Border Act, which passed the House earlier this year but was never taken up in the Senate. 

“The House passed the Homeland Security bill. The House did, so the Senate has yet to act. But you’re right, and Chip Roy… had a lot to do with this bill, [House Resolution] 2, and we need to stop the border,” Zinke said. “You look at the problems in our country, you look at Ukraine – although we’re spending $130 billion and don’t have any objectives – people don’t see it every day, and they don’t see the Pacific with the rise of China and the threat on Taiwan, but I can tell you, every city across America sees the border.”

“We got drug trafficking, child trafficking, fentanyl, it’s on our streets. Whether you’re in Billings, Montana, or you’re in the city of Minneapolis, you see the border up front,” Zinke added. “This bill – back to Gaza and… stopping immigration, stopping people with passports, stopping people that are possibly hostile to this country – in this battle, we need to take control of it, and we need to go to all stop, and we do need to defend the border. And look, I think the border is the number one issue facing this country, and we don’t have any vetting on who’s here and who’s not, and we need to attend to our business here.”

Migrants cross the Rio Grande at the US-Mexico border in Piedras Negras, Coahuila state, Mexico, on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023. Mexico, along with President Joe Biden’s administration and the United Nations, is considering setting up a temporary program to help pre-screen tens of thousands of migrants for US entry eligibility as border crossings increase again. Photographer: Alejandro Cegarra/Bloomberg

Zinke noted he has spoken with newly-minted House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) about the border and said it is also the “number one priority” for both of them “because the border is a principal threat to the constitution.”

“If I could describe the Speaker in one word – a lot of people are framed as a thoughtful, conservative, constitutional attorney and he is – I would say kind. I think kind in this period of history is undervalued, and don’t confuse kind with not being firm,” Zinke emphasized. “He’s firm, believe me, he’s firm, but he’s also kind, and, in this hyper-partisan world of hatred on almost every issue, maybe taking a step back in being kind, I think, is a good approach. He is staunchly pro-Israel as I am on this, and he’s staunchly secure the border as I am as well. And a new sheriff’s in town. He’s got a good team; everyone’s supporting him.”