--- title: Mike Huckabee: My Plan for ISIS and Refugees description: We need to take care of Americans first canonical: https://time.com/4117400/refugees-mike-huckabee/ author: Mike Huckabee article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-18T19:16:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:57:09.028Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Mike Huckabee: Ban All Visas for Travelers From Countries With ISIS Presence og:description: We need to take care of Americans first og:url: https://time.com/4117400/refugees-mike-huckabee/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt673a29536849936e/6988719a3c1639525345ac78/mike-huckabee.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Mike Huckabee in Orlando, Florida, on Nov. 13, 2015 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Mike Huckabee: Ban All Visas for Travelers From Countries With ISIS Presence twitter:description: We need to take care of Americans first twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt673a29536849936e/6988719a3c1639525345ac78/mike-huckabee.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Mike Huckabee: Ban All Visas for Travelers From Countries With ISIS Presence > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=e916b207-604d-457d-9a57-900745ef8978&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Politicians React to U.S. Policy on Syrian Refugees [Watch (HLS stream): Politicians React to U.S. Policy on Syrian Refugees](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/xRGMbKjA.m3u8) (1:57)  _Published 2015-11-17_ by [Mike Huckabee](https://time.com/author/mike-huckabee/) ## Mike Huckabee Nov 18, 2015 7:16 PM UTC  Mike Huckabee in Orlando, Florida, on Nov. 13, 2015 Mike Huckabee in Orlando, Florida, on Nov. 13, 2015 Joe Raedle—Getty Images by [Mike Huckabee](https://time.com/author/mike-huckabee/) ## Mike Huckabee Nov 18, 2015 7:16 PM UTC President Barack Obama has shown incompetence in the face of radical Islamic terrorists, like those responsible for Friday’s attacks in Paris. We need to take care of Americans and defend our communities first. Why invest billions to defeat enemies abroad only to transplant terrorists to American soil? The U.S. is a sovereign country, not a taxpayer-funded treatment facility for foreign terrorists fleeing civil wars. Sadly, our president has erased Syria’s “red line” and rolled out the red carpet for possible radical refugees on American soil. Granted, there are genuinely desperate people escaping from war-torn areas and the savagery of Islamic jihadism. But establishing refugee camps near the areas these folks fled makes more sense than moving them thousands of miles without a proper system to determine if they are indeed refugees. Europe’s experiment with open borders collided with radical Islamic terrorism on Friday, producing the most bloodshed in Paris since WWII. One of the terrorists responsible for the attacks in France is believed to be a Syrian refugee and others are believed to have trained there. Paris should be a wake-up call for the Washington establishment and many in the GOP who support open borders and out-of-control amnesty. At last week’s Republican debate I was mocked by the media and the chattering class for opposing Obama’s refugee relocation plan. Our country is $19 trillion in debt and America faces high unemployment levels. We need to take care of Americans first—not foreign refugees. In the face of continued ISIS threats, it’s time for common sense. Middle Eastern countries need to accept responsibility and tackle their own refugee problems in their own back yard. And the U.S. needs to get serious. First, we must immediately ban ALL visas for travelers and tourists from any country with a significant ISIS or al-Qaeda presence. Second, we must reject all Syrian refugees to America. It makes no sense to relocate these refugees half way around the world. Some misguided Republicans think we should just ban Syrian Muslims from coming to the U.S. But terrorists will say anything to infiltrate America – including lying about their religion. Trusting the Obama administration to process these refugees puts American lives in danger. Third, we must immediately secure our borders and build the southern border fence with Mexico today. A country that cannot control its borders is not a country. No more excuses. Lastly, Republicans in Washington must hold Obama’s feet to the fire. For once, they must stand strong and reject Obama’s power-play on refugees. Regardless of what this White House says, we are not at war with militant Methodists, extremist Episcopalians, or radicalized Roman Catholics. We are at war with Islamic jihadists. And it’s time we identify our enemy by name and start waging a winning war. ## Transcript When I hear political leaders [ BLANK_AUDIO ] suggesting that there would be a religious test [ BLANK_AUDIO ], for which [ BLANK_AUDIO ] a person who's fleeing from a war torn country is admitted. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] When some of those folks themselves come from families who benefited from protection when they were fleeing political persecution, that's shameful. That's not American. And when hundreds of thousands of people have lost everything, have nothing left but the shirts on their backs, we will not turn our backs on the refugees from Syria and Afghanistan. [ APPLAUSE ] Refugees are pouring into our great country from Syria. We don't even know who they are. They could be ISIS. They could be anybody. What's our President doing? Is he insane? We can't act as though we're shutting the doors to people in need without undermining who we are as Americans and the values we have stood for. [ APPLAUSE ] Our nation has always been welcoming. But, we cannot let terrorists take advantage of our compassion. This is a moment where it's better to be safe, than to be sorry. We need to hear from the White House and Homeland Security on exactly what these background checks are. What they, how they communicate to us in the States where these people are settling, so we can keep track of exactly what's occurring within our states. I believe the United States and the world needs to go on offense and stop the reason people have to leave Syria. The good people are leaving because they're being raped and murdered, and some terrorists are trying to get in their ranks. My heart says that we should let them in. 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