(CNN)Keep out. That was the message from the Republican-controlled House of Representatives on Thursday.
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Every year, the President, in consultation with Congress, determines how many refugees should come into the U.S. In FY16, the ceiling is 85,000, up from 70,000 last year.
The bill requires the specific signatures of three high-ranking officials to personally approve refugees into the United States, a burden that both Republicans and the White House believe would all but cease the flow of refugees into the United States because it is believed that said officials would be too fearful of the career implications should one of the detainees turn out to become even a mere criminal, much less a terrorist.
Opponents argued that the measure would effectively close the door on admitting Syrian refugees – mostly women and children – who are fleeing the barbarism of ISIS.
This grandstanding over refugees represents a gross deviation from American ideals.
Ted Poe, Republican of Texas, has introduced a separate piece of legislation that would change the law to allow governors to refuse admission to refugees the federal government wants to resettle in their states. And though new House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., hasn’t ruled out any approach, it seemed unlikely he would relish escalating the fight into a holiday-season shutdown battle with the president. It will do nothing to make us safer.
As Christians, they want to be compassionate.
In the past week we have been inundated with discussions of refugees and immigration due to the aftermath of the attacks in Paris. “Refugees wait 18-24 months while the screening process is completed”. Under the current system the Homeland Security secretary has the final say, though multiple other agencies are involved. Files on each refugee household approved for resettlement by the Department of Homeland Security are reviewed with an eye to the size of the household, the gender and age distribution, the educational and employment backgrounds of adult members, whether family members or friends are already living in the United States and are willing to help, and whether there are special considerations, such as a serious health problem.
On the campaign trail, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton said the US should welcome refugees from the region and bolster America’s defenses and intelligence operations.
President Barack Obama has seen the enemy, and it is the refusal to accept more Syrian refugees. This would involve a tremendous waste of time and resources and likely create a bureaucratic backlog.
Forty-seven Democrats joined all but two Republicans as the House passed the measure by a veto-proof 289-137 margin, a major setback to the lame duck president on an issue – what to do about the Islamic State and the refugees fleeing them – that shows no signs of settling down. However, Abbott and his fellow governors are misguided. The actual vetting process itself is left up to the executive branch. Alternatively, they could be intercepted in other countries or captured on the battlefield and then brought back to the U.S.in custody to face trial.
The refugee debate has played out this week as Obama traveled to Turkey, the Philippines and Malaysia, but it will confront him directly when he returns to Washington early Monday. Many people unfortunately interpreted my vote yesterday as a vote against refugees.
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American presidential candidates have been pushed to take a stance on the issue and tow the party line. Consider the evidence: Since 1990, not one refugee admitted into the US has committed an act of terror. Donald Trump has questioned whether they are part of a “Trojan horse” plot, and Ben Carson has compared them to “rabid dogs“. According to the AP data, MI has accepted 195 Syrian refugees this year. Republicans defend the measure as a common-sense necessity after the Paris attacks that killed 129 people. It would be far simpler for a potential terrorist to come here on a tourist visa, rather than go through the lengthy process to obtain refugee status. A hallmark of the USA refugee program is that it accepts refugees based on vulnerability and does not discriminate against any particular religion. He’s right. The USA absorbed waves of refugees from Cuba in the 1950s and 1960s, and from Southeast Asia in the 1970s; each of these populations has since contributed immensely to our country. More than half of Americans polled by Bloomberg Politics said the United States shouldn’t take any Syrian refugees fleeing the bad war in Syria. This is as inhumane as it is un-American.
