5:15 PM UPDATE: NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump says a bomb blast in Manhattan highlights the need for an immigration overhaul.
Trump said Monday that the U.S. “must fix its lax immigration system, which allows far too many dangerous, inadequately vetted people” into the country.
The Republican president points to his controversial travel ban as an example of the kind of policy that needs to be put in place. And he’s calling on Congress to end “chain migration,” in which family members are permitted to join relatives who have immigrated.
He also says people convicted of terror acts “deserve the strongest penalty allowed by law, including the death penalty in appropriate cases.”
The only person seriously wounded Monday was the suspected bomber.
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NEW YORK (AP) — A White House spokeswoman says a pipe bomb explosion in New York City’s subway system shows the need for “immigration reform.”
Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday that Congress should work with the president, stressing the need to “protect our borders” and calling for a “merit-based” immigration system.
Authorities say a man inspired by the Islamic State group set off a pipe bomb strapped to his body in a subway corridor near Times Square, injuring himself and wounding three others.
Law enforcement officials say the man came to the U.S. from Bangladesh seven years ago with a type of preferential visa for people with relatives who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
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