Despite the pushback from the left over President Trump’s temporary ban on the refugee program and travel from nationals of seven countries in the Middle East and North Africa, one former State Department official believes Trump should do even more.
Mary Doetsch, who recently retired from the State Department after 25 years and who served as a refugee coordinator throughout the Middle East, Africa, Russia and Cuba for nearly eight years, wrote in the Chicago Tribune that she fully supports President Trump’s efforts in these areas but feels the action “does not go far enough.”
“I have seen first-hand the abuses and fraud that permeate the refugee program and know about the entrenched interests that fight every effort to implement much-needed reform,” she said. “Despite claims of enhanced vetting, the reality is that it is virtually impossible to vet an individual who has no type of an official record, particularly in countries compromised by terrorism. U.S. immigration officials simply rely on the person’s often rehearsed and fabricated “testimony.” I have personally seen this on hundreds of occasions.”
Based on her experience, the refugee program is rife with “exploitations, inconsistencies and security lapses,” she explained, noting that it expanded “blindly” under the Obama administration, seemingly with no regard for security or the best interests of Americans.
“As an insider who understands its operations, politics and weaknesses, I believe the refugee program must change dramatically and the courts must allow the president to fully implement the order,” she concluded.
The former State Department official is not alone in her support of Trump’s executive order. Recent polls show a majority of Americans support the president’s order on immigration and refugees.