Ricketts not convinced despite U.S. officials’ assurance that Syrian refugee

Dozens of mayors wrote members of Congress last week, urging them not to block Syrian refugees from coming to the U.S. None of the mayors were from Louisiana or Mississippi. Michelle Steen, a 61-year-old greeter at the faith forum here, said she does want the Muslim refugees to eventually be sheltered by the West but that she understands the need for a short-term pause.

No wonder Obama is trying to change the subject by seizing on the blunders, bluster and blind spots of Republicans.

That’s not to suggest that the USA should accept any and all comers.

“We are horrified by the rhetoric of these governors”, Sofia Arias, who helped to organize the protest, told the assembled crowd. Despite my letter and an outpouring of opposition from the American people, the President made clear that he would move forward with allowing Syrian refugees into our country. “We owe it to every New Yorker to do whatever is necessary to protect them from brutal terrorists who openly threaten to destroy us and our way of life”. If you are a parent and you saw those kids, and you thought about what they had gone through, the notion that we couldn’t find a home for them anywhere in the United States of America, that is contrary to our values. His office said he sent his own.

Such a discussion might not succeed in persuading those governors who have been most adamant about barring the refugees.

NOW: De Blasio criticized Christie on Wednesday over the fate of Syrian refugees.

Trump was at it again on Twitter, laying into NY City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Bobby Jindal.

As soon as I heard the President’s announcement earlier this year, I immediately sought more information about the screening process Syrian refugees must undergo before entering the United States. They understand what I’m saying. There were 410,000 from the Central African Republic; we took 25 of them.

THEN: On September 9, McCain displayed a photo of Aylan on the Senate floor, urging stronger leadership from Obama on Syria.

And don’t relax yet ’cause we’ve barely even started. He ultimately concluded that he could not give “an absolute assurance that there’s no risk associated” with allowing Syrian refugees into the United States.

Meanwhile, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright continues to rally for the acceptance of refugees into the country.

The official talking points about vetting so-called Syrian refugees, mainly Muslims from United Nations camps, a population that mostly excludes actual refugees, Christians, Yazidis, etc, talk about how “multi-layered” the vetting is.

This past week we’ve seen the best and the worst of humanity.

Just under 2,200 Syrian refugees have been admitted to the US since the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011.

He said they’re fleeing because if they don’t, they will die.

Oliver called this “the most rigorous vetting anyone has to face”. GOP candidates for president have also weighed in on the issue, expressing their opposition to admitting more Syrians into the U.S. So far, 22 of them have their asylum applications marked “rejected” and have been ordered out of the U.S. The other five face a similar verdict. Reports have revealed that the decision to curb Syrian migrants came after multiple attacks took place in Paris on November 13.

But, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, over 20 percent of all Syrian refugees are military-aged males.

“You can have 1,000 people come in and 999 of them are just poor people fleeing oppression and violence, but one of them is an ISIS fighter”, he said during an ABC News interview.