John Kelly Defends Trump Travel Ban: We Won't Know If It Works 'Until The Boom' Happens | HuffPost

The homeland security secretary also expressed regret over its rollout.

By

Senior Politics Reporter, HuffPost

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly argued Tuesday that a delay of the president's travel ban could put America at risk.

Joshua Roberts/Reuters

WASHINGTON ― Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly on Tuesday used the specter of a terrorist attack to defend President Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban, which was put on hold by a federal judge over the weekend.

In testimony before the House Homeland Security Committee, Kelly turned to an argument the executive branch has used often to defend its policies: national security. The administration, Kelly asserted, would not have proof that terrorists are exploiting the temporary pause in the travel ban ― as he and Trump himself claimed ― “until the boom” occurs in the U.S. sometime in the future.

”Let’s just say, for instance, a person who is trying to get to the United States to do some harm, some terrorist attack, is coming in during this period that the courts put a stay on our enforcement, we don’t know that until an individual who’s a bad person, until they do something bad,” Kelly said during the hearing. “But it’s entirely possible that someone that’s coming in, whether it’s during this stay court action or previous to this, they intend to do us harm.”

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the ranking member on the committee, pressed Kelly on whether the administration had proof that those targeted by Trump’s order ― including refugees ― intended to harm the U.S.

”Not until the boom,” Kelly responded. “Not until they blow something up and go into a mall and kill people. Not until then.”

Kelly’s argument ― that a delay of the executive order places Americans at risk ― is at odds with his expression of regret over its chaotic implementation. Earlier in the hearing, the secretary conceded he “should have delayed it just a bit so I could have talked to members of Congress.”

Kelly said he did not believe the vetting process for travelers from the seven Muslim-majority nations affected by the ban was adequate to protect the nation.

But there is also a risk it could backfire and unite the Muslim world against the United States. Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), for example, have warned it “may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security.” Jihadi groups initially celebrated the order. And on Monday, Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei took a dig at Trump, sarcastically tweeting he appreciated the president because “he largely did the job for us in revealing true face of America.”

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Before You Go

11 Ways Immigration Reform Helps The Economy

Reform Would Help Curb The Deficit(01 of11)

Immigration reform would reduce the federal deficit by $2.5 trillion over 10 years, according to an analysis by the American Action Forum, a conservative think tank. (credit:Getty Images)

Expelling Immigrants Is Expensive(02 of11)

Expelling the approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants currently in the United States would cost $2.6 trillion over 10 years, according to CNBC. That's because it costs the government more than $8,000 to deport each person. (credit:Getty Images)

Reform Would Help Fix The Social Security Problem(03 of11)

Immigration reform would help bolster Social Security because more legal workers would mean more people contributing payroll taxes to its trust fund, according to an analysis from the Social Security administration. Undocumented workers already contribute $15 billion per year to Social Security. (credit:AP)

Immigrants Start Successful Businesses(04 of11)

More than a quarter of technology and engineering firms started between 1995 and 2005 had a foreign-born owner, according to The Washington Post. One of the founders of Yahoo!, Jerry Yang, is an immigrant from Taiwan. (credit:AP)

Reform Would Save $410 Billion Over 10 Years(05 of11)

The immigration reform bill proposed by the "gang of eight" senators would save $410 billion over a decade, according to an analysis from Gordon Gray, the director of fiscal policy at the American Action Forum. The savings would come largely from a boost in GDP resulting from undocumented immigrants gaining citizenship and in turn likely making more money. (credit:AP)

High-Tech Companies Say Reform Would Boost Their Bottom Line(06 of11)

Companies like Microsoft and Google have said that immigration reform would help them by allowing for more H1B visas, a special kind of visa geared toward highly skilled immigrants. The tech giants say they can't find enough qualified people in the U.S. to fill their staffing needs. (credit:AP)

Reform Would Boost The Wages Of Native-Born Workers(07 of11)

U.S.-born workers see between a 0.1 and 0.6 percent boost in wages on average with an increase in immigration, according to a report from the Hamilton Project, an economic policy initiative of the nonpartisan Brookings Institution. That's because immigrant workers bring skills with them that complement those of native-born workers, leading to new jobs. (credit:AP)

Immigrants Are Entrepreneurial (08 of11)

Immigrants are more than twice as likely as native-born Americans to start new businesses, according to a White House report on immigration reform. (credit:AP)

Reform Would Boost GDP By More Than $1 Trillion Over 10 Years(09 of11)

Immigration reform would boost GDP by $1.5 trillion -- or about 1 percent -- over 10 years, according to an estimate from UCLA professor Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda cited by CNBC. (credit:AP)

Immigrants Create Jobs(10 of11)

Businesses owned by immigrants created 4.7 million jobs in the U.S. in 2007, according to a White House report on immigration reform. (credit:AP)

Reform Would Bring In More Money Than It Costs In Benefits(11 of11)

Though many critics of immigration reform argue against the cost of providing increased public benefits, analysts say higher spending is not a likely consequence. A Congressional Budget Analysis of George W. Bush's 2007 immigration reform proposal found that it would cost the government $23 billion in more public services, but bring in $48 billion in revenue, according to The Washington Post. (credit:Getty Images)

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