(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Republican Senator John McCain has slammed late Tuesday the idea that only Christian Syrians should be allowed into the US as refugees, marking one of the rare occasions when he stands by President Barack Obama.
Republican presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz have both suggested a religious test for incoming refugees; 10,000 Syrians the Obama Administration expects to resettle in fiscal year 2016.
"Are we going to differentiate children by their religion? I don't think so," McCain said.
"I don't think (with) any child, whether they are Christian or whether they are atheist or whether they are Buddhist, that we should make a distinction," he added. "My belief is that all children are God's children." Obama has already described the notion of a religious test as "shameful".
Meanwhile, House Speaker Paul Ryan said that he's looking into legislation that would halt the Administration's refugee program.
"We cannot let terrorists take advantage of our compassion," he told reporters. "This is a moment where it's better to be safe than to be sorry. So we think the prudent, the responsible things take a pause in this particulate aspect of this refugee program, in order to verify that terrorists are not trying to infiltrate the refugee population".
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