U.S. & Syrian refugeesGOP lawmakers try to block funding for Syrian refugees settlement in U.S.
Republican lawmakers in the House are drafting a bill which would block federal funding for resettling Syrian refugees in the United States until the federal government adopts a “processes to ensure that refugee and related programs are not able to be co-opted by would-be terrorists.” The draft bill also requires that the administration create a “longer-term monitoring process” to track Syrian refugees in the United States.
Republican lawmakers in the House are drafting a bill which would block federal funding for resettling Syrian refugees in the United States until the federal government adopts a “processes to ensure that refugee and related programs are not able to be co-opted by would-be terrorists.”
The Obama administration said it would offer residency to 10,000 Syrian refugees in 2016. These refugees have already left Syria, and now live in tent camps in Jordan, Turkey, and Lebanon.
The draft legislation, a copy of which was obtained by Foreign Policy, stipulates that once the security procedures are in place, the details of the security checks used by the government to vet the refugees must be given to Congress in both classified and public forums. The draft bill also requires that the administration create a “longer-term monitoring process” to track Syrian refugees in the United States.
In the Senate, Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama) has also proposed legislation to limit U.S. funding for refugee resettlement, and Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) is planning to introduce a bill which would prevent Syrian refugees from obtaining U.S. visas.
FPreports that House Homeland Security Committee chairman Michael McCaul will today (Tuesday) discuss blocking Syrian refugee resettlement at a meeting with fellow Republicans.
On Monday, McCaul, in a letter to President Barack Obama, called for the immediate suspension of the admission of all additional Syrian refugees.
“The high-threat environment demands that we move forward with greater caution in order to protect the American people and to prevent terrorists from reaching our shores,” McCaul wrote.
The rising opposition to assisting Syrian refugees is already alarming humanitarian organizations, which say that doing so defies America’s long tradition of helping individuals fleeing persecution.
A senior Obama administration official, who wanted to remain unnamed, told FP that the security concerns about incoming refugees were unfounded because they are subject to “the highest level” of scrutiny by intelligence and security government agencies.
“All refugees, including Syrians, are admitted only after successful completion of this stringent security screening regime,” the official said.
