The U.S. Congress is now moving forward with legislation to address the uproar over allowing Syrian refugees (or, in the case of Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, refugees from anywhere in the world) into the United States. The New York Times reports:
Congressional Republicans increased pressure on the White House on Wednesday to halt a program for Syrian refugees, setting up a confrontation with President Obama over the issue as they head into a battle over spending next month.
Representative Michael McCaul, Republican of Texas and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, introduced a bill on Wednesday that would beef up the screening process for Syrians and Iraqis who enter the United States as refugees. The House is expected to vote on the measure on Thursday, a remarkable pace for legislation that showed the urgency in Congress to respond to the deadly attacks in Paris.
The bill, which received the full support of Speaker Paul D. Ryan, would require that the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and the director of national intelligence confirm that each applicant from Syria and Iraq poses no threat. The bill did not go into specific measures; rather, it said that officials “shall take all actions necessary” for a “thorough” background check.
Congresswoman Martha McSally has concerns about the vetting of refugees. McSally spokesman Patrick Ptak told the Weekly via email:
Top officials at the FBI, DHS, and at National Counterterrorism Center have indicated that we have gaps in our refugee security vetting process. In an October hearing, FBI Director James Comey stated: “We can only query against that which we have collected. And so if someone has never made a ripple in the pond in Syria in a way that would get their identity or their interest reflected in our database, we can query our database until the cows come home, but there will be nothing show up because we have no record of them.”
Over the last six months, Rep. McSally and her colleagues on the Bipartisan Task Force to Combat Foreign Fighter Travel have investigated what gaps exist and recently made over 50 recommendations to improve our security programs. Their findings pointed to vulnerabilities not just in the refugee vetting process, but in ISIS fighters from Visa Waiver countries and homegrown threats in America directed or inspired by radical violent extremism. Right now, we know that nearly 30,000 fighters from over 100 countries have traveled to Syria and Iraq, including 4,500 Western fighters. We know that 250 Americans have traveled, or attempted to travel, to Syria to fight, and the FBI has investigations of ISIS supporters in all 50 states.
Late yesterday, a House task force formed to address gaps in our vetting process introduced legislation to require certification that new refugees do not represent a security threat before being admitted. Rep. McSally is currently analyzing that legislation as well as solutions that will ensure all gaps and vulnerabilities are addressed.
Talking Points Memo looks at how the hysteria over refugees developed.
Slate takes a historic look at how some Americans have always voiced fears of refugees and immigrants:
Again and again, when faced with the question of refugees and immigrants, Americans are ambivalent and sometimes hostile. In 1975, for example, 62 percent said they feared Vietnamese refugees would take their jobs. Four years later, just as many said they didn’t want to admit “boat people” from Vietnam, who were fleeing the country’s repressive communist government. Americans said the same for Cuban refugees in the 1980s, Haitians in the 1990s, and most recently, the wave of refugee children from South America, which brought protests and fears of disease and infection.
You can even apply this dynamic to the Great Migration, the huge movement of black Americans from the South to cities and towns across the country. These Americans were internal refugees, fleeing lawlessness and racist terrorism. When they reached their destinations—cities like Detroit and Chicago—they faced deep hostility from existing residents, who blamed them for crime and economic disadvantage.
The broad point—the reason to focus on the these patterns of hostility—is to emphasize the extent to which they are part of the American tradition. In calling for acceptance of Syrian refugees, President Obama, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Conference of Catholic Bishops, and others are voicing one set of American values—the ones we want to hold ourselves to. But the same goes for Sen. Ted Cruz, Gov. Greg Abbott, and the other Republican governors and presidential candidates who want to reject them—those too are American values.
The question of the refugees isn’t if we’ll honor our values; it’s which ones we’ll choose. Will we embrace our heritage of inclusion or reject it for nativism? Will we be a country of actual open arms or one where our rhetoric is in recurring contrast to our actions?
This article appears in Nov 12-18, 2015.
Another piece of grandstanding legislation that has no hope of becoming law that members of the GOP hope people will see as them “doing something”. If by “doing something” they mean “wasting time and taxpayer dollars”, then they are correct.
Thank you Martha. Those have become our concerns as we find the President incapable of leading anything but an ill fated clean up.
He caused this mass exodus in Syria with his empty threats against Assad, backed up with no action.
Remember the line in the sand? Now it’s in Yuma.
What a miserable excuse for a leader. Go on without us France.
Martha, Tom Danehy in this publication has already found people in our community that law enforcement was supposed to protect us from, but they have not followed through on their promise. Don’t let them do it again with this. Let’s find them safe haven in the Middle East so they can return home once the conflict is over. That alone will cost us billions.
We can do so much more for them there, rather than bringing them here and spending 10 times as much. The feds are looking for low income areas. After the Middle East Tucson is first.
And that’s on you Mayor and Council.
Move them to Rothschild’s neighborhood!
There’s no room. The 3 stooges are spending the winter with him.
I Find the liberal agenda rather amusing. If my memory serves me correctly, the left is urging congress on passing legislation for stricter gun control laws throughout the continental U.S. Yet they have the audacity to condemn the Republicans for passing legislation calling for thorough” background check’s for Syrian refuges.
As a citizen of this nation, my second amendment right of the constitution is in jeopardy, because of gunaphobic democrats, that are willing to wait 10, 15 minutes before law enforcement officers actually arrive at a seine of a crime to rescue them from their assailant.
As a citizen of this nation, my first amendment right of the constitution is in jeopardy, because of Christiaphobic democrats, who believe that I don’t have the right to utter the gospel of Jesus Christ, other then in a closet, in the privacy of my own home. While Obama is considered to be a man of great compassion to his constituents, by granting a small minority of citizens their pleasures and in the process of doing so, is eliminating the freedom of speech, and my freedom of religion. Obama is not a giver as he claims he is, but rather a thief and a wolf, in sheep’s clothing.
As we knee jerk react to the Paris tragedy, let us not forget our own history. In the late 1930’s and early ’40’s we denied entry into the US of European Jewish refugees. We know that many of these that were denied entry were killed by the Nazi’s. Why did we deny entry? Because we were afraid that there would be Nazi collaborators among the refugees. We were scared, pure and simple.
In 1942 we rounded up over 100 thousand loyal American citizens of Japanese descent and, after stealing their possessions, put them into prison camps to languish for the war.
Both incidents did not end well for either group nor for our reputation on the world stage.
I am afraid that this little demonstration of xenophobia will do the same.
I think, or like to think, that we are better than that.
Michael and we are doing the same thing and the Republicans are again on the wrong side. We already have the most intensive security clearance for immigrants of all countries admitting them which is why we have only admitted 2000 Syrians at this point. It is taking 2 years to get anyone new in which I think is sad however we are being very careful. THe Republicans are making this political and may do not seem to be doing their homework. but rather using the rhetoric to stir up fear and anti-Obama slogans. It is so unfortunate we have to keep replaying history because many do not seem to learn from it. http://www.vox.com/explainers/2015/11/16/9…
One more time. The FBI says there is no way to vet these people. Please tell them how. If they were women and children…oh never mind. The President is a liar.
There is no way to vet them and they know it. They have forged pass ports and IDs:
AND IT’S ALREADY STARTING!
Honduras detains Syrians bound for U.S. with doctored Greek passports
http://www.reuters.com/…/us-france-shoot……
Terrorists: “The State Department put pressure on Turkey to close its POROUS border with Syria. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/20/us/us-in…
BUT they want US to keep OUR BORDER indiscriminately OPEN to the same people!
The statue was given to US by France. And we do not accept “REFUSE” in the US it is against our Immigration Law and always has been: Section 212(a)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), an individual seeking admission to the United States is inadmissible if the individual, “at the time of application for admission, is likely at ANY time to become a public charge.” This is to protect the people who are paying taxes and I’m not talking about the 1%! Weather it’s legal or illegal, immigration this is the outcome:
These people WANT to pay taxes: US Commission on Civil Rights Member: Illegal Immigration Accounts for 40% of Decline in Black Employment. They WANT their jobs back!
http://frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/u…
Think of something else besides pounding your chest in bragging SELF RIGHTEOUSNESS about how YOU beat those LAZY AMERICANS out of their jobs.
Vietnamese refugees might take your job but I don’t recall them blowing innocent people up, or shooting innocent people and slitting their bellies, or cutting off people’s heads and putting them on stakes.
Do you?
I don’t recall the Viet Cong even at their worst (and they were pretty bad) doing stuff like this.
When are “Progressive” and our dumbass Preisident going to wake up to the simple fact that Islam is NOT LIKE OTHER RELIGIONS? This is not some recent development or some minor lunatic fringe comparable to Timothy McVeigh. A sizable percentage of so called peaceful Muslims support Sharia and the Jihadists. Read some history about the Barbary Pirates and Thomas Jefferson.
Never Frank. Don’t expect it. But they will get a conservative elected in 2016.
ISIS just threatened to blow up the WH. I wonder where Michelle and the girls will sleep now?
Their ignorance is dangerous. Or could it be even more?
If you haven’t watched ENEMY AT THE GATES, do so.
America for America. Syria for Syria.
There are more than enough homeless Americans and veterans to take care of.
Why this is even a debate, makes me physically ill. Close the borders and end immigration at this point, the weak minded cuckolds would destroy this country if we didn’t pay attention and push back.
Don’t you brainwashed dolts have a black lives matter debacle to attend or tweet about?