Carson Compares Syrian Refugees to Rabid Dogs

GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson on Thursday drew comparison between Syrian refugees and rabid dogs, saying that the United States must balance "safety against just being a humanitarian."

"For instance, if there's a rabid dog running around your neighborhood, you're probably not going to assume something good about that dog, and you're probably going to put your children out of the way," the retired neurosurgeon said at a campaign stop in Mobile, Ala. on Thursday, reports USA Today.

"Doesn’t mean that you hate all dogs by any stretch of the imagination, but you’re putting your intellect into motion and you’re thinking: ‘How do I protect my children?'

"But at the same time, he continued, "I love dogs and I’m going to call the Humane Society and hopefully they can come and take this dog away and create a safe environment once again.’"

However, Carson said, "we have to have in place screening mechanisms that allow us to determine who the mad dogs are, quite frankly, who are the people who want to come in here and hurt us and want to destroy us. Until we know how to do that — just like it would be foolish to put your child out in the neighborhood knowing that that was going on — it is foolish for us to accept people if we cannot have the appropriate type of screening."

Carson is not alone among GOP candidates who oppose President Barack Obama's call to allow up to 10,000 Syrian refugees to enter the United States, but none have compared them to rabid dogs reports USA Today.

On Thursday, the Republican-controlled House passed a bill that requires more stringent vetting of Syrian refugees, which Obama has vowed to veto.

Also, a measure is pending in the Senate that could bring changes to the national visa waiver program, which allows people from several countries, including many in the European Union, to visit the United States and remain for up to 90 days.

Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida have both spoken out against the refugee program this week. Cruz called for a halt to the program altogether after last Friday's attacks in Paris, while Rubio said there is "no way to background check someone that's coming from Syria"

Front-runner Donald Trump, meanwhile, told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" show on Monday that he would "strongly consider" shutting down radical mosques in the United States,  as "some of the hatred — the absolute hatred — is coming from those areas."

He also told Yahoo News that he would not rule out making Muslims in the United States carry identification cards, and The New York Times he supports creating a database for Muslims.

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