Republicans’ Efforts to Keep 9/11 Terrorists Off U.S. Soil Rejected by Democrats

By Penny Starr,
Senior Staff Writer
CNSNews.com
Friday, November 13, 2009

(CNSNews.com) – In anticipation of the Obama administration’s move to close down Guantanamo Bay, House Republicans introduced legislation that would have prevented Gitmo detainees from being brought to the United States. But the Democrats, who have a majority in Congress, did not allow the legislation to move out of committee.

On Friday, Attorney General Eric Holder announced plans to bring the confessed 9/11 mastermind, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, and four other terror suspects to New York to be tried in U.S. federal court.

“My bill was an attempt to try to take a shot across the bow of the administration,” Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) told CNSNews.com about the introduction of HR 1238 back in February. The bill would have prohibited “the presence in the United States of any alien formerly detained at the Department of Defense detention facility at Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,” the legislation states.

“I believe it is a grave error to bring them to the United States,” Shadegg said. “They are, in fact, not criminals under domestic law in the United States.”

“They are, in fact, terrorists,” Shadegg said. “I do not believe that they are entitled to the protection that criminals in the United States, or accused criminals in the United States, are afforded under our Constitution.”

Shadegg’s bill, which was co-sponsored by 29 other Republicans, was referred to the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law in March.

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