Since it appeared among the Paris attackers could have entered Europe with migrants the governors, mostly Republican, have pressed for prohibitions within their states.
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Administration officials say that, on average, it takes 18-24 months for a Syrian refugee to be granted passage into the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced a plan in September to bring 10,000 Syrian refugees into the USA over the next year. Tuesday, he joined other governors in a teleconference with the White House on the matter.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees first screens applicants to determine if they are eligible and whether to send them to one of 28 countries, including the United States.
“Until we are fully assured of a robust vetting system, we should put a moratorium on Syrian refuges coming into the country”, said Sen.
“The state is really just sort of a pass through to the resettlement agencies, to the local governments that are actually providing services to refugees”, Gilman said.
While campaigning in Charleston, S.C., Monday, the Republican presidential candidate restated his belief Muslim refugees should settle in primarily Muslim countries, while Syrian Christians should be welcomed in the United States.
Syrians have not been a part of North Dakota’s refugee resettlement program in the past.
Christopher Roederer, a professor of law and director of worldwide programs at the Florida Coastal School of Law, says governors have no authority to refuse the entry of anyone into their states. He said he was in contact with Ryan and the White House on how to proceed.
Ryan’s remarks came amid mounting pressure from Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives to halt the government’s program to accept resettled Syrian refugees in response to the Paris attacks in which a militant posing as a refugee has been implicated.
“Administration officials reiterated what the president has made abundantly clear: that his top priority is the safety of the American people”, the White House said. “That’s why, even as the United States accepts more refugees – including Syrians – we do so only after they undergo the most rigorous screening and security vetting of any category of traveler to the United States”. So his announcement about Syrian refugees surprised many and caused criticism in his home state. Their big concern right now is copycat attacks here in the United States.
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House Republicans are outlining legislation aimed at increasing screenings for Syrian and Iraqi refugees before they enter the United States, including a requirement for Federal Bureau of Investigation background checks.
