WASHINGTON (AP) – Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz said Tuesday that surveillance in Muslim neighborhoods in the U.S. must be intensified following the deadly bombings on Brussels’ airport and subway.
Echoing his rival Donald Trump, Cruz said the U.S. should stop the flow of refugees from countries where the Islamic State militant group has a significant presence. The Islamic State took credit for the Brussels attacks that killed dozens Tuesday and wounded many more.
“We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized,” the Texas senator said in a statement.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, condemned Cruz’s call for surveillance, saying it sends “an alarming message to American-Muslims who increasingly fear for their future in this nation and to all Americans who value the Constitution and religious liberties.”
Trump, who spoke to Fox News as developments in Brussels were unfolding, said he had warned about such attacks. “Brussels was a beautiful city, a beautiful place with zero crime, and now it’s a disaster city. A total disaster,” he said.