US Should Let in Christian Syrian Refugees, Jeb Bush Says

That should be our first and foremost responsibility.

The White House has threatened to veto any bill that mandates more rigorous security checks for Syrian refugees prior to resettlement in the U.S.

Obama didn’t single out Cruz, who said in an interview Tuesday on ABC News that he wants to let in Syrians who are Christian but not Muslim. They’ll be either executed or imprisoned, either by Assad or by ISIS. And I think we should have – we should focus our efforts as it relates to the refugees for the Christians that are being slaughtered.

BUSH: Well, we do that all the time. “Islamic State terrorists can just as easily pose as illegal aliens crossing our southern border as they can refugees fleeing a war torn country overseas”. I’ve had to make hard decisions across the board and this is a tough job. “It’s counterproductive and it needs to stop”, the president said. This is a warning for our country that this threat is not going to go away.

Since Vietnam, the American public has seemed convinced that one key to winning a war is winning “hearts and minds” (never mind that our track record of winning wars in the era beginning with Vietnam has been far spottier than our record before Vietnam). The United States has pulled back, and when we pull back, voids are filled.

The arrests come after an ISIS terrorist bragged about how easy it was to smuggle thousands of covert jihadists into Europe under the guise of being a desperate refugee.

In addition to these governors – at least 26 of whom are Republicans – GOP presidential hopefuls like Chris Christie, Ben Carson, Donald Trump, Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz have also voiced their opposition to accepting Syrian refugees, at least until more effective screening systems are in place. During a November 15 campaign visit to SC, Republican presidential candidate Sen. The State Department has said those countries are controlled in part by a foreign terrorist organization.

“I don’t think it’s discriminatory to suggest that we should be duty bound to provide support for Christians who only due to their faith are being obliterated in the region”, he said.

Cruz told reporters that we should accept Christians from Syria, and only Christians, because “There is no meaningful risk of Christians committing acts of terror”.

Editor’s Note: This provision would allow for the entry of Iraqi and Syrian Christians, Jews, Yazidis and other persecuted religious and ethnic minorities, provided such individuals can prove “clearly and beyond doubt” that they qualify, the burden of proof being on the prospective refugee. “Number one, they’re facing religious persecution and a genocide that is directed at them in particular”, Cruz said. Both Bush and Ted Cruz have said preference should be given to Syrian Christians.

Illinois’ senior U.S. Senator Dick Durbin says that just isn’t enough.

Governors who oppose Obama’s refugee plan are concerned a few of them might launch attacks against Americans.

“Our nation has always been welcoming, but we can not let terrorists take advantage of our compassion”, Ryan said.

In a speech at the G20 summit in Antalya, Turkey, President Obama called the anti-Syrian stance un-American.

The Texas Republican often mentions how his father fled Cuba for the United States as a young man. Cruz was asked on CNN on Monday how he could bar refugees from the United States given his father’s story.