Now they are scared of 3-year-old orphans.
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“We don’t make good decisions if it’s based on hysteria or an exaggeration of risks”, he added, speaking from Manila. “This is one of the many moments where our national character is tested”, Inslee said.
The refugee program is managed by the federal government, as is immigration policy. New Hampshire’s Maggie Hassan is the lone Democrat opposed to the Syrian refugees. He said refugees are also required to go through many in-person interviews, as well as a medical screening.
Others have proposed separate measures setting strict conditions on admitting Syrian refugees, such as requiring the Federal Bureau of Investigation director to certify that refugees’ background checks have been completed, and an audit of the vetting process.
“Given the lives at stake and the critical importance to our partners in the Middle East and Europe of American leadership in addressing the Syrian refugee crisis, if the President were presented with H.R. 4038, he would veto the bill”, the White House said.
Still, President Obama has insisted that the USA will continue to accept the refugees, slamming Republicans for suggesting that they pose a security threat.
He said he was in contact with Ryan and the White House on how to proceed.
“Certainly there has always been resistance to accepting refugees or immigrants”, Collins said.
McConnell appeared to dispute that, citing the case of an Iraqi man living in Kentucky “who came into the U.S. as a refugee, vetted, who ended up being arrested for plotting a terrorist attack”.
“We have no fool-proof way of vetting these refugees and state officials should have the right to protect their citizens by refusing to participate in refugee programs, ” Palazzo said in a statement.
The issue has become a political football in the race for the White House.
The controversy has flowed over into the 2016 presidential campaign, and Republican candidates such as real estate magnate Donald Trump and Sen.
The approval rate for refugees seeking asylum in the United States now stands at just over 50 percent, senior administration officials said.
“Our nation and our state have a shared history of providing safe haven for those displaced by conflict, but the news surrounding the Paris terror attacks reminds us of the all-too-real security threats facing America”, Rauner said in a statement.
According to the US Department of State, the country has accepted 2,159 of the estimated 4 million Syrian refugees that have fled their home country since October 2011. “And I urge you, as President, to halt your plans to allow Syrians to be resettled anywhere in the United States”.
Individual certification for these refugees, who already undergo a screening process that can take between 18 and 24 months and involves multiple U.S. security agencies, is likely to slow that process down even further.
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The White House held a conference call Tuesday with 34 governors to better explain the refugee resettlement process.
