Mr Obama, travelling in Asia, on Tuesday called attempts to block entry “offensive and contrary to American values”.Obama administration officials had held a conference call on Tuesday with 34 U.S. governors to discuss the country’s refugee programme, the White House said, after more than a dozen governors said they would refuse to accept Syrian refugees.
Advertisement
Of millions of Syrian refugees, fewer than 2,000 have so far been allowed into the United States. If we look at the refugee situation in Europe and compare it to the United States, this apprehension to accepting Syrian refugees has little to no basis in evidence.
“Terrorist organizations have already said they’re going to use the refugee program to try to infiltrate the United States and you say you’re less anxious about Syrian refugees than other refugees?”
“Some of those folks themselves come from families who benefited from protection when they were fleeing political persecution; that’s shameful”, Obama said in Antalya, Turkey, on Monday on the sidelines of the G20 summit.
Cruz’s bill includes a narrow exception, but according to a statement from his office, “the bill also mandates that the Secretary of Homeland Security may not admit any refugee based exclusively on the assertions of the refugee”.
Acknowledging that Florida does not have the authority to change federal immigration funding, Scott urged Congress “to prevent federal allocations toward the relocation of Syrian refugees without extensive examination into how this would affect our homeland security”.
It also must be noted that federal officials say Syrian refugees undergo a more stringent vetting process than refugees from other countries. “As Americans, we want to always extend the hand of friendship, but we can not jeopardize the safety of our people and our nation”, Rep. Jenkins said.
Although Comey said the process has since “improved dramatically”, Syrian refugees will be even harder to check because, unlike in Iraq, USA soldiers have not been on the ground collecting information on the local population.
The White House is defending the program that vets the refugees, but critics question if it can really get the job done.
“The government’s duty is to protect the citizens”, said Aken Cabrera, who understand’s the Governor’s pause. They are accusing Republicans of turning their backs on victims fleeing the horrors of Islamic State terrorists. He has since then introduced legislation to “eliminate all funding” for the refugee resettlement program.
The fear of terrorists posing as refugees arose on Wednesday in Honduras.
Advertisement
“I don’t think that line’s ever been drawn in our country’s history”.
