Latest / Commentary - TJ Meadows / Pausing is the Right Call

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Pausing is the Right Call · Commentary - TJ Meadows

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  Speaker 1: In the wake of any horrific event, the very first
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  Speaker 1: obligation of a responsible nation is to stop, take stock
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  Speaker 1: and act with deliberation. Business as usual after tragedy isn't strength,
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  Speaker 1: it's refusing to learn and almost guaranteeing the same mistakes
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  Speaker 1: happen again. After Wednesday's shooting, which took the life of
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  Speaker 1: twenty year old Sarah Beckstrom and left twenty four year
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  Speaker 1: old Andrew Wolf fighting for his the Trump administration announced
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  Speaker 1: a pause on all immigration cases involving Afghan nationals, including
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  Speaker 1: pending asylum applications. The suspect, twenty nine year old Ramanula Lachenwall,
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  Speaker 1: entered the US in twenty twenty one after the withdrawal
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  Speaker 1: from Afghanistan and had previously worked with a CIA backed
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  Speaker 1: paramilitary unit. Administration officials say the vetting process used during
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  Speaker 1: the Biden years may have missed warning signs, and they
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  Speaker 1: plan to re examine hundreds of thousands of similar immigration decisions.
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  Speaker 1: Senator Jim Justice on Friday to Talk Line he supports
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  Speaker 1: a temporary pause until the administration can ensure the vetting
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  Speaker 1: process is sound. Congressman Riley Moore echoed that on a
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  Speaker 1: Sunday talk show as well. Now, critics of Trump's move
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  Speaker 1: have already spoken up, and they have every right to.
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  Speaker 1: That's how the system is supposed to work. Scrutiny, even
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  Speaker 1: sharp scrutiny, makes policy better. But in this moment, a
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  Speaker 1: temporary pause is a reasonable step, not to assign blame prematurely,
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  Speaker 1: but to identify weaknesses before something like this happens again.
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  Speaker 1: Accountability is necessary and will come once the investigations are complete,
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  Speaker 1: whether that falls on decisions made under Biden, under Trump,
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  Speaker 1: or both. Re Examining past immigration and asylum cases is
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  Speaker 1: also fair. Mistakes are possible, but let's be clear, suspicion
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  Speaker 1: alone isn't enough, and guilt by nationality has no place
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  Speaker 1: in our country. President Trump now has an opportunity to
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  Speaker 1: strike the right balance, a pause that leads to a
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  Speaker 1: thorough fair review of the vetting process, not an indefinite
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  Speaker 1: end to legal immigration. Openness and transparency will be essential
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  Speaker 1: to maintaining public trust. And while all of this plays out,
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  Speaker 1: none of it eases the grief facing Sarah's family, Andy's family,
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  Speaker 1: and everyone who loves them As we keep them lifted
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  Speaker 1: in prayer. The best way we honor Sarah and support
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  Speaker 1: Andy is by staying grounded, staying civil, and being our
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  Speaker 1: best selves in the days ahead.