A number of GOP presidential candidates and Senate Republicans issued similar calls to delay or stop accepting Syrian refugees, pointing to indications that one of the perpetrators in Friday’s attacks might have entered France with a Syrian passport. Jeb Bush and Texas Sen.
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Sighting U.S. history of providing refuge to those in need, Obama said, “Welcoming the world’s vulnerable who seek the safety of America is not new to us”.
The fact is that refugees are now subject to the absolute highest level of security checks of any category of traveler coming to the USA – with special criteria in place for those coming from Syria on top of the normal procedures.
He says such precautions are common sense and the government’s obligation to American citizens.
Lynch said the screening process for those considered for immigration to the United States is more stringent, relying on extensive interviews, biometric screening and the combined intelligence assets of several federal agencies.
“That’s why, even as the United States accepts more refugees, including Syrians, we do so only after they undergo the most rigorous screening and security vetting of any category of traveler to the United States”.
Besides Christie’s demand to halt resettlements in New Jersey, House Speaker Paul Ryan Tuesday called for a “pause” in the program, according to CNN.
The White House said that of 2,174 Syrians admitted to the USA since the September 11, 2001 attacks, none has been arrested or deported because of allegations they harbored extremist ambitions. Just 28 percent of all Americans – including 32 percent of Republicans and 17 percent of Democrats – said the religion is inherently violent, while 64 percent – 61 percent of Republicans and 76 percent of Democrats – said it is not.
President Obama defended his efforts to resettle Syrian refugees in the United States Wednesday, condemning criticism from many GOP presidential candidates as “political posturing”. He allowed the situation in Syria to happen, he hasn’t set up a no-fly zone that could create a safe haven for these refugees to live safely in their own country, rather than having to scatter all across the world. He said that no refugees should be permitted into the USA from Syria “unless they be Christian refugees that are facing genocide”, and said that the spending bill should contain language specifying as much.
The administration announced that goal earlier this fall after a photograph of a little Syrian boy washed up on a beach sparked calls for compassion, including from a few congressional Republicans. Still, Obama acknowledged that the USA public was concerned about attacks on the homeland, noting that Paris “reminds us of home”. And he’s the one who’s casting aspersions?
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Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., said that with next year’s presidential election approaching, Republicans were using the bill to show conservative voters that they want to “keep away the foreign invaders”.
