Watch CBS News

Carson: Refugees more likely to be radicalized due to "resentful" Americans

Republican presidential contender Ben Carson believes that, because Americans are "resentful" of their presence, refugees in the U.S. are more likely to buy into "radicalization."

"You bring a lot of people here from another culture and what they will tend to do is congregate together -- that's a natural thing -- which makes them much easier targets for radicalization," Carson said Tuesday on Breitbart News Radio. "Particularly if you bring them into an environment where a lot people of are resentful of the fact that they are here. That's just going to create incidents that will increase further the likelihood of radicalization."

How the 2016 candidates would deal with Syrian refugees 01:37

Following the deadly terrorist shootings in Paris, where an allegedly fake Syrian passport was found near an attacker's body, more than half of Americans say they are in favor of ending the U.S. program to resettle Syrian refugees in the country, according to a Bloomberg poll conducted in mid-November.

"So again, why would anybody even be thinking about doing things like that?" Carson continued. "We have brains for a particular reason. We're supposed to use them."

After his trip to a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan last week, the neurosurgeon-turned-politician suggested that it would be best for neighboring Middle East countries to take in migrants. Earlier this week, Carson said Jordan, whose resources are already overwhelmed by migrant needs, would be able to take in more refugees if the United States provided humanitarian and financial aid.

"It's much easier for them to integrate into a society that is very similar to the one that they came from than to try to assimilate into a society in America," he added on Breitbart.

In the past, Carson has cautioned that ISIS terrorists could enter the U.S. along with Syrian refugees, comparing them to "rabid dogs."

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.