House GOP Moves on Urgent Effort to Strengthen Vetting of Syrian Refugees

Yet even before Obama announced his position, Democratic leaders were turning against the legislation, complaining of changes to the bill they said would have the practical effect of keeping refugees out of the US entirely.

“Our nation has always been welcoming but we can not let terrorists take advantage of our compassion” Ryan told reporters after meeting with House Republicans in the US Capitol. “And I suspect it won’t sound right to the American people”.

Mr. Obama and refugee advocates are feverishly fighting back, saying opposition to Syrian refugees is anti-Muslim and could violate USA treaty obligations. It would oblige the heads of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Department and the director of national intelligence to certify to Congress that each refugee “is not a threat to the security of the United States”.

Republicans said the bill contained no religious tests for the refugees – a split from former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen.

Only around 2,200 Syrian refugees have been allowed into this country in the last four years and they already go through a comprehensive vetting process that can take as much as three years, including biometric screening, fingerprinting and additional classified controls.

After the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, claimed credit for the recent attacks in Paris, lawmakers brought attention to the United States’ refugee program.

It is scheduled for a House vote Thursday.

“I can’t imagine how it could happen, so no”, Ryan said in an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes”, when asked if he would support Trump’s proposal. Many of them are considering pushing the issue in a massive spending bill due by December 11 – a measure that if vetoed would lead to a government shutdown.

Ryan said he and committee chairs in the House of Representatives were working on legislation to address the Syrian refugee crisis.

To date, 33,000 people have developed illnesses related to the September 11 attacks.

Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., said that with next year’s presidential election approaching, Republicans were using the bill to show conservative voters that they want to “keep away the foreign invaders”.

The 15-member Blue Dog Coalition of moderate Democrats said it would support the legislation.

“The fear, the anger, the prejudice and the isolationism that are driving the current debate on Syrian refugees remind me of a few of the darkest and ugliest chapters of American history”, said McGovern, a reference to US moves to bar a few fleeing Hitler before World War II. Jeff Flake planned to introduce a bill that would restrict visas for any individual who had been in Iraq or Syria in the past five years.