US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump would send all the Syrian refugees the United States accepts back to Syria if he is elected.
The billionaire made the comments on Wednesday at an event in Keene, New Hampshire in the US.
“I am putting the people on notice that are coming here from Syria as part of this mass migration that if I win, they’re going back. They’re going back, I’m telling you,” he said.
The Republican front-runner said the recent influx of migrants from conflict-stricken Syria could be “one of the great tactical ploys of all time” by Islamic State.
“So if they come, that’s great and if I lose, I guess they stay. But, if I win, they’re going back. And I know a lot of people will say ‘Oh, that’s not nice’. We can’t afford to be nice, we’re taking care of the whole world,” he said.
Mr Trump commented on the recent air strikes by the US military against Islamic State insurgents in Syria.
He said: “So you have ISIS (Islamic State), that wants to take on (president) Assad. So we’re fighting ISIS, but we want to fight Assad. Why don’t you let those two fight for a little while, and take over the remnants?”
Mr Trump has taken a strong anti-illegal immigration stance, including a call to deport the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the country.
Agencies