Roanoke mayor approvingly cites WW 2 Japanese internment camps in defense of exclusion of Syrians

Thumbnail Image - Syrian refugees and migrants "Slovenska vojska tudi med vikendom v velikem številu pri podpori Policiji 01" by Robert Cotič - http://www.slovenskavojska.si/odnosi. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Commons.

UPDATE Roanoke mayor apologizes for remarks

Roanoke continues to trend on social media, after Mayor David Bowers referred to internment camps for Americans of Japanese descent in a statement requesting a halt to any efforts to bring Syrian refugees into the Roanoke area.

Thursday, Bowers said that he stands by his statement and that he thinks it was "respectful and moderate."

However not everybody agrees.

"To compare this situation, as if that was a good decision, just shows how little he knows about history." That was the challenge issued by Roanoke city council person Ray Ferris at a news conference Wednesday evening.

Read entire article at WSET