Ben Carson in Syrian Refugee Crisis

On War & Peace: Support Syrian refugees in Jordan; place more with Kurds

Q: You recently visited a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan and you deemed it "really quite nice." Are these camps are a long-term solution?

CARSON: I asked the Syrians themselves: What do you want? Their supreme desire was to be settled back in their own country. I said, "What can America do?" They said, "Support the efforts of those who are trying to provide safety for us, including the Jordanians." They had a brand new hospital, for instance, that was unstaffed because there wasn't enough money to do it. But if you go into Hasakah province, that's an area that's as big as Lebanon. It's controlled by the Kurds, the Christians and the moderate Sunnis. You could settle a lot of people there.

Sen. Lindsey GRAHAM: I've been to the refugee camps in Turkey, and Jordan. We've got to stop this war. Do you realize that there are more Syrian refugees in Lebanon going to school than Lebanese children? Do you realize if this war goes for another year the King of Jordan could fall? Let's have a no-fly zone

Source: 2015 CNN/Salem Republican debate on Syrian Refugees Dec 15, 2015

On Foreign Policy: Focus on funding refugee camps; not bringing refugees to US

Q: You visited a Syrian refugee camp. What did you learn?

CARSON: I was very impressed by the humanitarian effort of the Jordanians. I had an opportunity to talk with many Syrians, asking them what is their main desire? And it is to be repatriated. The international community is spending more time on bringing refugees here, rather than supporting a facility that is already in place that the refugees find perfectly fine when adequately funded.

Q: Your assessment visiting there is that Jordan could take all the refugees; it's just a matter of getting more financial resources?

CARSON: Jordan could take a lot more of the refugees. I don't see any reason why some of the other nations in the area shouldn't also be asked to do it, so that you don't have to go through a big cultural change with them. In terms of money, there's about a $3 billion annual shortfall for the Jordanian refugee camps. If we bring 10,000 or 25,000 of them to the United States, that's not solving a problem.

Source: CBS Face the Nation 2015 coverage of Syrian Refugee crisis Nov 29, 2015

On Homeland Security: Religion not sufficient probable cause to track

Q: You said a few weeks ago that bringing in people from the Middle East right now carries extra danger and we cannot put our people at risk because we are trying to be politically correct. Let's imagine some of those refugees get into the United States. For authorities to track emails, cell phone calls, they usually need to have probable cause. Do you think in some instances, religion should be enough for probable cause?

CARSON: I personally don't feel that way, but I would certainly be willing to listen to somebody who had evidence to the contrary. I think that's one of the problems, we get to our little corners and we don't want to listen to anybody anymore.

Source: ABC This Week 2015 interview on Syrian Refugee crisis Sep 27, 2015

The above quotations are from Opinions and policy on the Syrian Refugee crisis. Click here for other excerpts from Opinions and policy on the Syrian Refugee crisis. Click here for other excerpts by Ben Carson. Click here for a profile of Ben Carson.
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Page last updated: Dec 03, 2021