DISCLAIMER: THE FOLLOWING "Cost of Freedom Recap" CONTAINS STRONG OPINIONS WHICH ARE NOT A REFLECTION OF THE OPINIONS OF FOX NEWS AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS INVESTMENT ADVICE WHEN MAKING PERSONAL INVESTMENT DECISIONS. IT IS FOX NEWS' POLICY THAT CONTRIBUTORS DISCLOSE POSITIONS THEY HOLD IN STOCKS THEY DISCUSS, THOUGH POSITIONS MAY CHANGE. READERS OF "Cost of Freedom Recap" MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN INVESTMENT DECISIONS.
REFUGEE PROGRAM IN FOCUS AMID REPORT ISIS HAS THOUSANDS OF STOLEN PASSPORTS
Charles Payne: We don't have mechanisms for weeding out fake Syrian passports; we have a problem to begin with. There are a lot of holes in the system.
Charlie Gasporino: The visa checkers don't look at Facebook. They leave it up to the applicant, like one of the San Bernardino killers, to go out there and check the box, yes; I’m a member of ISIS. This is how stupid the process is. I will say this; it makes you think there's a conspiracy by both parties. Democrats want an influx in immigrants for their voting roles and Republican establishment because they want cheap labor to let as many people in and who cares?
Nomi Konst: To begin, right now, our refugees are .0004 percent of our population. We have been doing this since 1975. It is the most vetted group of immigrants that come into America. It’s a two-year waiting period, they go through the U.N.
Gary K: Our own Homeland Security says it's an issue, says we have absolutely no intelligence on the refugees, says that we have no communication with the governments over there. We have nothing on these people.
Lisa Boothe: This comes down to plain common sense. The reality is the FBI says there are concerns about ISIS being able to print passport documents. Further, ISIS said they penetrated European borders and this is their plan. This is exactly what they are trying to do. The administration said it would be difficult to vet documents given to them by refugees when they are coming from countries like Syria where the government is not going to be active.
APPLE CEO TIM COOK DEFENDS PRIVACY, ENCRYPTION AMID TERROR CONCERNS
Lisa Boothe: He makes a fair point that purpose that encryption serves. It raises broader concerns of the new threats we are facing from cyber security. I agree with him on the issue.
Charles Payne: I think Cook is absolutely wrong on this. I think its nuts. I don't think the people using the product should be bordered off or absolved from following the law. I get where he's coming from. He's probably intimidated. He's talking; he doesn't care about the constitution or safety. He's look at the bottom line. I get where he's coming from as a CEO.
Charlie Gasporino: I think if business leaders like Tim Cook don't get into this, they are playing with fire. If we have more terrorist attacks, the likelihood is forget about encryption and whether there is a back door or checking people's phone records, we are talking a police state. If we don't stop them now, because that's what happens when people start getting murdered in repetition.
Gary K: Companies like Apple, Google, Twitter, can be a weapon on the war on terror instead of being the head wind on it. We just heard of this arrest some puke 57 Twitter account trying to do bad things to this country. You know, he talked about the privacy versus the national security that is not an issue, Tim Cook said. It is completely an issue of that. I'm going to fall on the safety of Americans. There is a happy medium. All they are asking for is when a judge issued a warrant to look up a bad guy for apple to enable it; it doesn't mean they open it up to everybody.
Nomi Konst: There are limits to the rights to privacy, which isn't actually in our Constitution. Law enforcement can go in and search and seize in a home, property and the same thing with Apple. The problem is Tim Cook is trying to be this civil rights activist, but, go look at his factories in china and look how he's manufacturing his products with precious minerals.
NEW SURGE OF UNACCOMPANIED MINORS AT U.S. BORDER
Gary K: Look, it's all on us and when kids come here, we pay for their food, their clothes, education, healthcare. I think there is another part of this equation, do you really think the kids are coming on their own, a lot of this the parents are putting them to get here. So the parents can come here and then we're paying even more. And by the way, deportations are also down 40 percent since the last time Obama was elected. You combine the two and our taxes are going up in a very big way.
Lisa Boothe: I think it's concerning. The reality whether you have a president that unilaterally rewritten the immigration laws and undermined the rule of law, he is sending a very clear message to these individuals that they can come over here illegally and stay in America. You're just asking for this to happen.
Charlie Gasporino: You can't have open borders at a welfare state. We have 5.5 percent unemployment.
Nomi Konst: We have tripled the border security budget. We spend $10.8 billion. We deported more people, more undocumenteds than ever under Obama. Borders are more secure than ever.
Charles Payne: And if Obama’s executive order proves to be constitutional, instead of coming here and having kids here, can you push them over the border and we know it’s happening. They're being used as pawns. Americans shouldn't pay for it.
STOCK PICKS
Charles Payne: United Rentals (URI)
Gary K: Home Depot (HD)
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