Those few refugees who are approved for resettlement in America or other countries are scrutinized through a process that can take years. He said critics already call the United States’ current process too slow.
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Similar letters went to other governors who have expressed concern about accepting Syrian refugees. A climate of fear and paranoia has settled in since the violent attacks in Paris, eliciting a knee-jerk reaction that promotes unsafe forms of xenophobia and prejudice.
Amid rampant violence ensuing in Europe and the Middle East, the United States remains uncertain as to how it will handle the fight against ISIS and Syrian refugees.
In Austin, supporters hope that this nation, too, will step up to help with the humanitarian crisis.
Last week, U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton, wrote to Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, demanding she rescind her invitation to the federal government to move Syrian refugees to the area.
This was the opinion aired by CNN veteran journalist John King when he tackled the Obama administration’s latest quandary following the terror attacks in Paris which killed at least 130 people: Whether or not to allow more refugees on American soil. The United Nations High Commission on Refugees first interviews prospective refugees to assess whether they meet USA resettlement requirements, such as being families, unaccompanied children or victims of torture. This makes me think back to 2009, when a flaw in the screening of Iraqi refugees allowed two al Qaeda-linked terrorists to enter the United States and settle in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
In a statement, the White House said governors encouraged more communication from the administration to ensure that they can better respond to questions from the public about the refugee screening and resettlement process.
“I’ve … asked our Department of Human Services to resist the efforts of the federal government in utilizing our resources in this state for refugee relocation”, Hutchinson said in a conference call with Arkansas reporters while in Tokyo on a trade mission.
-A biographic check conducted by the State Department that includes checking the applicant against names in the various law enforcement and intelligence databases and watch lists. Of the millions of Syrian refugees around the world, the United States has admitted less than 2,000.
The letter also states, “If the expert screener fails to be satisfied, the applicant will not be resettled in the U.S”. After a year in the United States, refugees are required to apply for a green card. She said it’s important to balance compassion and safety.
Despite both of these revelations, President Obama announced he will continue to accept 10,000 refugees from Iraq and Syria – a breeding ground of Islamic extremism.
But legal experts say the governors have little or no power to enforce a ban on such refugees.
At the same Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on October 8 Nicholas Rasmussen, the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), testified, “The intelligence picture we have of this particular conflict zone is not as rich as we would like it to be so that would give us – obviously, when you screen and vet you screen and – and vet against available intelligence holdings”. As Americans, they want to be safe.
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“That’s the very nature of terrorism – they can’t beat us on the battlefield, so they try to terrorize us into being afraid, into changing our patterns of behavior, into panicking, into abandoning our allies and partners, into retreating from the world”, Mr. Obama said.
