“Apparently they’re scared of widows and orphans coming into the United States of America”, Obama said, mocking GOP leaders for thinking they’re tough. Tuesday he went on FOX News to say the state will not allow any more Syrian refugees into the state.
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Governors from around the country joined a call with White House officials regarding the United States’ plan to accept up to 10,000 Syrian refugees.
While over half of the US governors have declared their opposition to the resettlement program, a few have come out and said they’re still welcoming refugees. Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration Simon Henshaw and Deputy Director of the FBI Mark Giuliano all particpated in the call.
French and other European officials have said that at least one attacker used the flow of Syrian refugees to gain entry into the European Union.
President Barack Obama on Wednesday vowed to veto a GOP-drafted bill that would suspend the program allowing Syrian and Iraqi refugees into the USA until key national security agencies certify they don’t pose a security risk. Governors have very little legal recourse to stop refugees from being placed in their states, thanks to federal laws, but they can make things more hard.
“We are not well served when, in response ot a terrorist attack, we descend into fear and panic”, Mr. Obama said at a summit in Manila, the Phillipines.
“The United States should be a safe haven”, Dr. Yahya Basha, a Syrian-American advocate from West Bloomfield, Michigan, said.
Speaker Ryan hopes to a bill ready to hit the House floor for a vote as soon as Thursday.
The success of the screening process Europe uses to admit refugees is also hard to accurately assess.
He said Americans should remain compassionate but protect their nation. It has instigated political confrontation in Europe and is now doing the same here in the United States. The bill steers clear of demands from some Republicans, including presidential candidates, for religious screenings or a complete end to the US refugee program. So his announcement about Syrian refugees surprised many and caused criticism in his home state.
“The House Republican legislation would immediately shut down all refugee resettlement from Syria and Iraq, possibly for many years, and severely handicap future refugee resettlement around the world”, the lawmakers said.
The White House hosted a conference call with a bipartisan group of 34 governors from across the country Tuesday to provide information regarding existing refugee policies.
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A spokesperson for MI Gov. Rick Snyder, one of the governors who asked the federal government not to bring refugees into his state until security procedures were reviewed by the Department of Homeland Security, tells NPR’s Don Gonyea that Snyder “thought it was helpful to hear in much greater detail the work on screening and security procedures”. Average processing time for all refugees to the U.S.is 18-24 months.
