Zinke On Bringing In Refugees With No Criminal Record: ‘Suicide Bombers Are Not Repeat Offenders’

Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT), a retired Navy SEAL Team Six commander, says the U.S. should stop bringing in refugees until they can be properly vetted.

Zinke joined the Breitbart News Daily Show on Sirius XM Patriot channel 125 to discuss his opposition to Obama’s plan to bring more refugees into the United States.

The Montana Republican, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, told host Stephen K. Bannon that because Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL)-linked terrorists involved in the Nov. 13 Paris attacks may have been embedded in France’s refugee population, the Republican leadership in Congress should stop the president’s “dangerous plan to bring 180,000 refugees to the United States.”

Regarding the argument that refugees must pass a criminal background check before they are admitted into the U.S., he said on the radio program, “Suicide bombers are not repeat offenders.”

“They have no background. They strike once. And they invoke incredible damage. Allowing just one is too many,” Zinke elaborated in comments to Breitbart News.

The State Department recently claimed that the majority of Syrian refugees coming into the United States are women and children, noting that only 2 percent of those already in the country are military-aged males with no family.

“You know it doesn’t take but one and…women have strapped on suicide vests, children have killed our troops,” Zinke told Breitbart News Daily.

He also pointed out that women are being used as recruiters for ISIS.

Congress’ only SEAL veteran recently introduced legislation along with Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), titled “The American Security Against Foreign Enemies (SAFE) Act,” to strengthen the refugee screening process.”

Earlier this year, he sponsored legislation, titled “The Refugee Resettlement Accountability National Security Act,” that would prohibit the admission of refugees into the U.S. until Congress adopts a joint resolution giving the government authority to resume accepting refugees.

“We need to put a stop on bringing refugees until we can vet them,” explained Zinke.

“The problem I have is not necessarily refugees,” he added. “It’s about who we’re bringing in and the lack of knowledge. We don’t know who these people are for certain…we need to secure our southern border now. We need to stop [brining in] refugees until we can figure out a vetting process that gets us a degree of certainty.”

Zinke wants the government to pause its refugee program until the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can verity and certify that the vetting is up to par. Once that happens, Congress can vote to resume the processing of refugee.

“Rep. Zinke is sympathetic to refugees from war torn nations,” Heather Swift, a spokeswoman for congressman’s office tells Breitbart News. “He has worked with translators and other good samaritans while in Iraq. However, this is not reason to use lax screening standards for a very serious threat. Zinke would like to see every single individual screened 100 percent. Any red flags or even holes in their backgrounds are not acceptable.”

Zinke, a former commander of U.S. special forces in Iraq, told Breitbart News Daily that the elites in Washington, D.C. do not “understand the level of evil” facing the U.S. military abroad.

“I think the number one job of America is to protect its citizens and there is this sense that ‘oh it’s somewhere else or it really isn’t that bad’…not everyone in DC is takin it seriously,” added the 23-year military veteran.