Trump to suspend immigration from exporters of terror

WASHINGTON – Republican candidate Donald Trump in a major foreign policy address on Monday said if elected US president he would temporarily suspend immigration from some of the most dangerous and volatile regions of the world that have a history of exporting terrorism.

“We should only admit into this country those who share our values and respect our people. In the Cold War, we had an ideological screening test. The time is overdue to develop a new screening test for the threats we face today,” he said at an election rally in Youngstown, Ohio.

“Our new approach must be to halt the spread of radical Islam,” he said.

In addition to screening out all members or sympathizers of terrorist groups, those who have hostile attitudes towards the United States or its principles, or who believe that Sharia law should supplant American law, should also be screened out.

Trump did not specify any countries in his speech although at a campaign rally in Portland, Maine in early August he gave several examples of immigrants from the Philippines, Somalia, Morocco, Uzbekistan, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Yemen who he said came to the United States then plotted to kill Americans.

The Philippines was mentioned by Trump in reference to the case of Ralph de Leon, a Filipino residing in California who was arrested and sentenced to 25 years in prison last year for terrorist activities.

A review by the US Senate Immigration subcommittee has identified 380 foreign-born individuals charged with terrorism or terrorism-related offenses between Sept. 11, 2001 (9/11 attacks) and 2014, and many more since then, Trump said in his foreign policy address.