Dubbing the Pilgrims the country’s first refugees, President Obama used his weekly radio address Thursday to chide his fellow Americans for their reluctance to accept Syrian refugees and to insist that the US has a duty to accept them and other immigrants.
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In the letter, the agency said states are bound by the Refugee Act of 1980 to provide “assistance and services” to refugees “without regard to race, religion, nationality, sex or political opinion”, and can not cut off ORR-funded services to Syrian refugees.
Before lawmakers left for Thanksgiving break, the U.S. House passed a bill to suspend the refugee program until the vetting process is intensified and officials can certify that no refugee poses a risk.
Roughly 2,200 Syrian refugees have been allowed in over the last four years.
The poll showed that most Americans are also against Obama’s suggestion that there should be no religious test for refugees, with only 28 percent of respondents in favor of such a plan. President Barack Obama has a stated goal of admitting up to 10,000 additional Syrian refugees during this fiscal budget year.
“People should remember that no refugee can enter our borders until they undergo the highest security checks of anyone traveling to the United States”, Obama said.
“Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Today, we give thanks for all of our loved ones and the courageous men and women in uniform who serve our country”, Obama tweeted.
“I understand there’s a real fear here” said the State Department’s Simon Henshaw, after officials there reached out to KTSA News in hopes of better explaining the program.
Goodlatte said governors took a position adversarial to the federal government because they are reflecting views of citizens in their states. “The people who are fleeing Syria are the most harmed by terrorism, the most vulnerable as a effect of civil war”, Obama said, speaking from the G20 summit in Turkey, days after the terrorists bombings in Paris took 129 lives and wounded another 350.
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“Syrian refugees are subject to even more precautions than other refugees”, he added. “Our nation and our state have a shared history of providing safe haven for those displaced by conflict, but the news surrounding the Paris terror attacks reminds us of the all-too-real security threats facing America”, Rauner said in a statement. It is suspected that at least one of the attackers gained entry into France through the European refugee resettlement program. He has said all refugees are thoroughly vetted before being brought to this country. Using homeland security as their main point, some Congress members wanted legislation that will tighten further the conditions in which refugees could be admitted to the country.
