Percent Of Americans Against Taking In Refugees

The message Mayorkas sent via the conference call was similar to the one delivered in a letter to Christie Saturday from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, who hails from Montclair, detailing the process by which the USA vets Syrian refugees.

In the somber days since ISIS terrorists killed 130 people in coordinated attacks on Paris, elected leaders from around the world have been searching for solutions.

Gov. Abbott joined 30 other state governors in the rejection movement- although, constitutionally, their requests are far from doable. In fact, if someone were intent on sneaking into America to cause harm, exploiting the refugee resettlement program with its intensive and lengthy screening processes would be the hardest way to do it. No, what is behind the anti-refugee campaign of the Right is not reasonable concerns about security, but something much uglier.

“In the wake of these awful events, I understand the anxiety that many Americans feel”.

Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey stated, “we can only query against that which we have collected”.

In reality, about 264,000 refugees, or 2.3 percent, resided in the United States in 2013.

More than 4 million people have fled Syria since the civil war broke out in that country in 2011. “But I do know what it’s like to have to leave your home and travel halfway around the world in hopes of finding refuge”. Moreover, half of the Syrian refugees accepted into the United States have been children, and a quarter of those accepted are over 60 years old.

Last week, the Republican controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly for a bill that would require top US national security officials to certify that each individual migrant from Iraq and Syria is not a national security threat to the United States before being granted asylum. For example, the screening process for refugees usually takes two years and involves many government agencies, including the National Counterterrorism Center.

President Obama was absolutely correct when he said that “slamming the door” in the faces of these refugees would be treachery to the values that have been instilled in Americans everywhere.

The White House considers the bill as being unsustainable and say it would not provide significant additional security for the American people, apart from serving only to create significant delays and obstacles for refugees.

But closing the border to refugees, she said, would be punishing “an extremely vulnerable population who have been victimized by dictators and terrorists”.

“We have the capacity to do more”, Appleby said, noting that we could feasibly take in 100,000 refugees every year. While states do not have the legal authority to admit or deny refugees, they play an important consultation role and in making refugees feel welcome. The State Department performs background checks using a variety of terror, law enforcement, and intelligence databases.

More generally, Trump has said that we’re going to have to do things that were “unthinkable” a year ago.

Carper, in a speech before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, laid out reasons why the entire Syrian refugee controversy should not be a controversy at all.