Former Rep. Tom Tancredo says the U.S. must stop immigration for all Muslims and is so alarmed by the threat of terrorism at home he's mulling a run for president on that platform.
"[Running] is a distinct possibility if I can't get anyone else up there to actually bring it to the floor. I do not know how else to do this and I don't know anyone else who will," Tancredo, a Colorado Republican, said Friday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
Newsmax TV.
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"Unfortunately, we have no [system] that we can run these people through in order to establish which ones are the acceptable immigrant and which is not."
And that inability, said Tancredo — who previously sought the GOP presidential nomination and is author of
"In Mortal Danger: The Battle for America's Border and Security," published by Cumberland House — spells danger for the U.S.
"I know there are plenty of Muslims who do not intend to do us harm. That's totally irrelevant to the situation we face," he said, noting the issue goes beyond Muslims.
"Not only should we stop all immigration from Muslim countries of Muslims, from anywhere actually, but we … need to then look at the people who are here as resident aliens who, in fact, support Sharia law, [and] advance it themselves.
"Those people need to be deported because they are supporting something that is absolutely and totally contradictory with the Constitution of the United States ... You can't have two tracks, two laws — English common law and of course Sharia law. Won't work, Britain is finding it out. How long will it take us? At a certain point, there's nothing else you can do."
But it won't happen in the immediate future, Tancredo said.
"Certainly not in the foreseeable future, not without some horrendous event ... Not with this Congress, not with this president," he said.
"However, somebody has got to say it. Somebody has got to begin the debate. I'm not suggesting I'm the person, I'm just saying it's got to start somewhere.
"If I have to run again for something in order to get it to be discussed, I'll do it whether it's president or Senate or whatever. If you don't, if we just keep ignoring this stuff, if we keep pretending and sticking our heads in the sand, we are doomed. This society, Western civilization is doomed."