Senate Democrats Plan to Filibuster House Refugee Bill

Officers with the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services undergo five weeks of specialized training, including fraud detection and prevention, security protocols, interviewing techniques and country conditions research.

Many lawmakers question whether the United States can effectively screen people arriving from chaotic countries that lack reliable bureaucracies or a significant American presence. He allegedly told administration and congressional officials that the legislation would make it impossible to allow any refugees into the US, and could even affect the ability of travelers from about three dozen countries that are allowed easier travel to the USA under the visa waiver program, the unnamed officials said. “Defeating terrorism should not mean slamming the door in the faces of those fleeing the terrorists”. We stand proudly against misguided attempts to repeat past mistakes that tarnish our nation’s history. Republicans said that in unsafe times, the government must first protect its own.

While he’s glad Aguilar “is following the lead of conservative-minded Americans who are concerned about terrorism”, the congressman’s vote is a political ploy that doesn’t mask his weakness on national security, Chabot said. Reps. Joe Courtney, D-2 District, and Jim Himes, D-4 District, broke with their party – and the other members of the CT delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives, in supporting the bill. Behind the scenes, Republicans are preparing several bills that are more drastic, aiming to close American borders to asylum seekers. “I’ve said to them from the start, “Nobody’s asked you to do anything”. The bill requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation director, the secretary of Homeland Security and the director of National Intelligence to certify that refugees entering from failed states do not pose threats to our national security.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) accused Republicans who pushed the bill of “fearmongering and bigotry”.

“We have welcomed refugees from around the world into Iowa”, Branstad said in a statement Monday.

But the Obama administration says refugees still provide an extensive amount of information during the process, and said the bill would mean “unnecessary and impractical requirements that would unacceptably hamper our efforts to assist a few of the most vulnerable people in the world”. He says all the steps to vet refugees need to be taken and the process is about 18 months long. In other words, any American-bound refugees are tokens of concern in the big picture.

Donald Trump has also asserted that President Obama wants to allow 250,000 Syrian refugees to come to the U.S. But the administration has in fact only agreed to allow 10,000 Syrian refugees in the next year.

French President Francois Hollande declared war on ISIS in the wake of the Islamist terrorist attacks in Paris that left a few 129 innocent people dead.