Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser dodged questions on whether he supports deporting the family of Boulder terrorist suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman, saying that it should not be done in a “haphazard” manner.
The White House has said that the wife and five children of Soliman will be deported. Weiser said that expedited removal is a “constitutional procedure,” but claimed that the focus ought to be on “the climate of fear” created by others who have undergone this process without actually being deported.
“The important part about due process is if someone has a basis to stay here. They have a legitimate claim for asylum, they‘re threatened,” Weiser said on CNN’s News Central Wednesday. “That‘s going to get evaluated by a independent fact finder, and that‘s how our immigration system should work. It should work based on the facts, based on the law. It shouldn‘t be targeting people in ways that are haphazard, in ways that deny due process, or in ways that are based on fear, not based on facts.”
Weiser was then pressed by anchor John Berman whether Soliman’s family possibly being deported is either “haphazard” or based on fear. The attorney general evaded the question by saying the family “may” or “may not” have a claim for asylum.
Weiser then credited “our Colorado system” for preventing Soliman from buying a firearm. He added that this information should have been passed along to the federal government, and is unsure why this did not happen.
‘THIS ISN’T THE AMERICA WE THOUGHT WE KNEW’: JEWS CALL FOR ACTION AGAINST HATE
Soliman is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday afternoon for the filing of charges.
The Washington Examiner previously reported that White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller “eviscerated” ICE officials in an emergency meeting on May 20, asking the officials, “Why aren’t you at Home Depot? Why aren’t you at 7-Eleven?” Since then, acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director Todd Lyons said the Trump administration is shifting focus to target visa overstayers.