It is the duty of the United States to protect refugees while also remaining a symbol of liberty, according to a Friday opinion piece by former USS Cole Commander Kirk S. Lippold in USA Today.
"The United States remains the global leader on protecting the persecuted and oppressed. This is no time to turn away from that noble calling. We must trust but verify, and once again be the beacon of liberty for the world. This is the real formula for American security and American greatness," the retired Navy officer wrote.
Lippold said he had seen the stakes of the refugee issue up close during his command of the USS Cole, during which it survived a suicide attack by al-Qaeda. He said that thorough vetting of refugees is important, adding that refugees make up less than 0.09 percent of all foreign citizens who enter the U.S.
The president and the secretary of state must be leaders in taking on the worldwide refugee crisis, Lippold wrote. "Having the vision, the will and the courage to lend a hand to fellow human beings in their hour of greatest need is the mark of real leadership and a vital component of—not a risk to—genuine and durable U.S. national security," he said in his opinion piece.
President Donald Trump announced Friday that a new immigration order would be issued after a federal appeals court decided not to reinstate the current travel ban.
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