Gene Simmons: ‘The People Are Gonna Have to Decide’ on Immigration Policy Stance
During a time where the environment is politically charged to say the least, KISS' Gene Simmons has shared his thoughts on the current hot button topic of immigration in the U.S.
Earlier this month, Simmons spoke with Canadian Jewish News in Toronto (seen above) at a sold-out fundraiser for Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa. Simmons was born in Haifa and his mother is a Holocaust survivor.
When asked about the global climate of terrorism, Simmons said, "It hasn't been cropping up in America — it's been cropping up in Europe. And the people of Europe and South America and, of course, the Middle East — the people who live in the countries where they elect officials, if they are lucky enough to be in a democratic system — have to decide for themselves what the immigration policy is."
He continued, "In America, there are almost 12 to 20 million illegal immigrants. And I'm not giving you my opinion, but that's either gonna continue or not. There's either gonna be a ban on some countries and their immigration, or not. The people are gonna have to decide. I don't know what to tell you."
When further probed about the current administration’s immigration policy, Simmons mused, "The Pope, actually, came on and said something very astute. He said walls are inhumane and not nice — except the Vatican has a very nice, big wall around it, for the same reason: they wanna keep people out; they don't want everybody coming into the Vatican. Isn't that interesting? How about that?"
Simmons told The Guardian last December that celebrities should keep their political opinions to themselves — especially when it comes to the results of the 2016 presidential election.
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