The fear mongering. We could house those at Gitmo quite fine here.
"We will not stand by as your adminisration defies the will of the American people and brings these terrorists onto U.S. soil," a sentiment expressed in a joint letter to the president signed by ranking members of Armed Services, Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.); Judiciary, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas); Intelligence, Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.); Appropriations, Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.); Justice Appropriations subcommittee, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.); and Homeland Security, Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.)
GOP turns up the heat over bringing Gitmo prisoners to U.S. soil - TheHill.com
"No good purpose is served by allowing known terrorists, who trained at terrorist training camps, to come to the U.S. and live among us," said Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, the senior Republican on the [House Judiciary Committee]. "Guantanamo Bay was never meant to be an Ellis Island."
Lamar Smith was so proud of this quote, it's the lead "story" on his House website this afternoon.
Over the past couple of weeks, Republicans have generally played fast and loose with the language, so as to not blatantly lie. They'll say, for example, that terrorists might "come to our communities," which might be technically true if you found a neighborhood within 100 miles of a supermax detention facility and defined it as a "community."
But Smith went the extra mile today, and warned of having terrorists "living among us," as if the Obama administration might just have al Qaeda members going to the movies, heading to the malls, and perusing the aisles of your local supermarket. Indeed, he compares the situation to immigration, as if we're welcoming huddled masses from Gitmo, yearning to breathe free, with open arms.
The Washington Monthly
Republicans criticised the move. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Americans and Congress had "already rejected bringing terrorists to US soil for long-term detention, and current law prohibits it".
BBC News - Guantanamo inmates to be sent to Illinois prison