Carson: Better to Help Fund Jordanian Refugee Camps than Bring Refugees to U.S.

KEILAR: "Dr. Carson, you traveled to Jordan this weekend to visit Syrian refugees. How has this visit shaped your thinking?" 
CARSON: "Well, it was wonderful to have an opportunity to actually visit some of the camps and talk to the people themselves. First of all, very impressed with the humanitarian spirit of the Jordanians, who have been that way for decades. But their outreach to the Syrians is truly touching. But having an opportunity to talk to many of the Syrian refugees themselves and ask them questions, like, what is your supreme desire, and to see how much they want to be resettled in their own country but also asking them, what can other nations, like the United States of America, do that would be helpful to you? 

"And the answer that really was overwhelming is that they can support the efforts that are already in place by the Jordanians and others in terms of these refugee camps. They don’t have enough money. And, you know, you look at last year, there was a $3 billion shortfall. Well, that’s the same amount of money that we spent last month on Halloween candy. So it is possible to shore this up.

"But we really need to be looking at the things that actually solve the problem. Bringing 10,000 Syrian refugees to America or 25,000 doesn’t even begin to solve the problem. There’s already 1.4 million Syrian refugees in Jordan — and they can handle even more than that, to be honest with you —"