Ted Cruz’s Call to ‘Secure’ Muslim Neighborhoods Stirs a Backlash
Photo by Jamelle Bouie
GOP presidential candiate Senator Ted Cruz angered American Muslims on Tuesday with a call to “patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods” in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Brussels, reports The New York Times.
He said that some politicians had “tried to deny this enemy exists out of a combination of political correctness and fear.” And he added that Europeans were “seeing what comes of a toxic mix of migrants who have been infiltrated by terrorists and isolated, radical Muslim neighborhoods.”
“We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized,” he said in a release
The Times reported that the comments drew immediate rebukes from Muslim groups. Last week, he came under fire after announcing a team of national security advisers that included Frank Gaffney Jr., a former Reagan administration official who is perhaps best known for holding extreme views about Islam.