Republicans along with 47 Democrats voted to make background checks on Syrian and Iraqi refugees tougher.
Advertisement
“The Republican bill would introduce unnecessary and impractical requirements that would unacceptably hamper our efforts to assist a few of the most vulnerable people in the world, many of whom are victims of terrorism, and would undermine our partners in the Middle East and Europe in addressing the Syrian refugee crisis”.
But if refugees are admitted, the poll found, an overwhelming 78% say all refugees should be considered equally- only 18% support a preference for Christian refugees. But in the Senate, Minority Leader Harry Reid said the measure would face fierce opposition from Democrats.
The president has announced he will veto any legislation slowing his Syrian refugee initiative.
“Today is not the day to share our territory”, House Financial Services Committee chairman Jeb Hensarling told colleagues.
“To come to the US, you go through a very troublesome process, but it’s justified because these agencies… are doing their job and doing it very meticulously”, he said, adding that he is “grateful for America, regardless of how long it took” to get here.
Albright said the political focus on refugees was misplaced – one, because none of the terrorists in Paris have been identified as either Syrian or refugee, and two, because it distracts from other potential solutions to the violence and unrest in Syria.
“Where is our mercy?” congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee pleaded. However, Loretta Lynch, Obama’s attorney general, called these new screening proposals as both “impractical and impossible”, stating that these impositions probably would bring down the refugee program.
Second District U.S. Rep. French Hill of Little Rock, 3rd District U.S. Rep. Steve Womack of Rogers and 4th District U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman of Hot Springs were all sponsors of the American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act, also known as the American SAFE Act.
Donald Trump has also asserted that President Obama wants to allow 250,000 Syrian refugees to come to the U.S. But the administration has in fact only agreed to allow 10,000 Syrian refugees in the next year.
Newly elected House Speaker Paul Ryan blocked all amendments to the bill, including a popular amendment from Republican Rep. Brian Babin to definitively pause the entire resettlement program until vulnerabilities in the vetting process are addressed.
Rights groups warned that such positioning merely plays into the hands of extremist groups. Overall, 76 percent of all registered refugees are women and children.
The mayor of Roanoke, Virginia cited Japanese internment as a reason for rejecting Syrian refugees; the leader of Tennessee state House Republicans called for jailing refugees; Syrians are being stopped in various locations and suspected of being terrorists; and polling now shows that most Americans oppose Syrian refugee resettlement. Several of the Democrats who crossed party lines said the bill offers beneficial security measures.
Advertisement
It was not immediately clear if the eight had U.S. visas or were seeking asylum or refugee status.
