Jindal said Syrian refugees began arriving in New Orleans earlier this month, and said it is “irresponsible and severely disconcerting to place individuals, who may have ties to ISIS, in a state without the state’s knowledge or involvement”.
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The White House could certainly be more considerate of the requests of many governors for better information about refugees in their states.
The vote was a 289-137 victory for those-mostly Republican-politicians who have been vocal about closing the borders to refugees in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris last week, or severely restricting access to the country, ostensibly in an attempt to prevent a similar attack on American soil.
In a November 20 letter signed by Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Secretary of State John Kerry obtained by the Dispatch, the two lay out the country’s current extensive system for approving refugees, including interviews by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and biometric screenings by the Department of Defense.
Long Beach’s other representative in Congress, Alan Lowenthal, voted against the bill.
Overall, more than four million Syrians have registered with the United Nations refugee agency.
America’s debate over allowing in Syrian refugees is not one of its prouder moments.
“We will not have a religious test, only a security test”, Ryan said in a speech on the House floor. Officers responsible for conducting the interviews undergo a five-week training course followed by additional weeks of training specific to the population they will interview. “I think what struck me after the attacks in Paris was a real feeling of uneasiness from a lot of Americans and a real feeling or worry that something like that could happen here”. The Federal Bureau of Investigation will have to put a hold on accepting Syrian refugees until it has revamped the security-check process to meet the new requirements. The letter agreed with the Refugee Council USA’s recommendation that the country should resettle a mimimum of 200,000 refugees by the end of 2016, including 100,000 from Syria despite, the expected backlash.
It also is a small price to pay to subdue those shrill voices who want the United States to simply turn its back on the refugees. That’s how they win. However, at a time when the US needs to show humanitarian leadership, some state governments and Congressional leaders are calling for a stop to the program, or limits in refugees from particularly countries or religions. House Republicans and a portion of House Democrats passed a bill this week that would tighten the restrictions Syrian refugees face when seeking asylum in the U.S. The administration opposes their efforts. “This is a legitimate security concern”. She said that thinking of this as a partisan issue is wrong, and cited the lack of cooperation across party lines as one reason she’s chose to leave Congress.
“If our law enforcement and our intelligence community can not verify that each and every person is not a security threat, then they shouldn’t be allowed in”.
During fiscal year 2014, 69,986 refugees settled in the United States, according to the federal government.
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The question really comes down to this: Is the demonstration of our “humanity” worth the possible loss of perhaps hundreds of American lives?
