In any event, Obama’s veto pledge is unfortunate because the House bill addressed the public’s fears about jihadists slipping into our country without simply blocking access to legitimate refugees.
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“Defeating terrorism should not mean slamming the door in the faces of those fleeing the terrorists”, says Jerrold Lewis Nadler, US Representative for New York’s 10th congressional district.
Six days after the Paris attacks, the House voted 289-137 Thursday to essentially bar refugees from the two war-ravaged Middle Eastern countries while tighter entry restrictions are imposed.
“For years we have been proud to welcome refugees into our communities in their pursuit of a better life and future”, the letter from the Governors added. First they are finger printed, then they undergo a thorough background check, then they are interviewed by the Department of Homeland Security., ” he explained.
Admitting refugees “allows us to truthfully say that we’re not hypocrites or bigoted against Muslims or people from other cultures”, Chertoff told the paper.
The high number of Democrats voting against the White House is a clear sign Obama is increasingly isolated in his position on refugees in light of the ISIS terrorist attacks on Paris.
Current rules require refugees to be screened by the Department of Homeland Security.
“We got to take it serious”, said Republican U.S. Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin. “As we accept more refugees from Syria or Iraq, we must implement an additional level of security to guarantee our nation’s safety”.
In all, 47 House Democrats voted for the bill.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday announced plans for a summit in March on resettling millions of people who have fled Syria as he expressed concern at “misplaced suspicions about migrants and refugees”. While the tragic event was a direct assault on the European Union’s refugee system, the potential for this situation to arise in the United States is escalated by information revealed by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, James Comey. “Until we can figure this out, governors of each state should not be pushed by the Obama administration to accept these refugees”.
Defenders of the bill, including a few Democrats, described the changes as fairly modest, especially in light of rhetoric coming from a few Republican presidential contenders such as Donald Trump suggesting keeping out all refugees.
Responding to those opposing Syrian refugees, he said there is multiple layer of security before they are allowed to enter the country.
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The four sponsors said in a press release that all services in the Office of Refugee Resettlement should be suspended, including the health services, legal services and social services “that help refugees become self-sufficient as quickly as possible after their arrival in the United States”.
