Christie: Not even 5-year-old orphan refugees

Christie and other Republican candidates have called for the USA and its allies to establish a safe zone in Syria for refugees instead of allowing them into the US for fear that terrorists could infiltrate their ranks. Jeb Bush and Texas Sen.

“When individuals say we should have a religious test and that only Christians, proven Christians, should be admitted, that’s offensive”, Obama said.

Yet despite GOP hopes that Democrats would support the bill in large numbers, Democratic leaders turned against it Wednesday, complaining of changes to the legislation they said would have the practical effect of keeping refugees out of the US entirely.

He says such precautions are common sense and the government’s obligation to American citizens.

Assistant Secretary of State Anne Richard tells a House Judiciary Committee panel that refugees face intensive screening by several federal intelligence, security and law enforcement agencies, including the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center.

A senior State Department official acknowledged demands by more than two dozen governors, including Christie, to not resettle Syrian refugees in their states. Bowers said it appears that the threat of harm to America from the Islamic State “now is just as real and serious as that from our enemies then”.

The White House on Wednesday threatened a presidential veto of House Republican legislation aimed at increasing screenings for Syrian and Iraqi refugees before they enter the United States, calling new requirements in the bill “untenable”.

“We can be compassionate and we can also be safe”, Ryan said. They say they’ve tried to strike a balance in the bill, noting it would not limit refugees based on their religion.

President Barack Obama, traveling overseas, did not immediately weigh in on the legislation but seemed certain to oppose it. Commenting late Tuesday on the congressional debate in general, he ridiculed Congress for failing to come up with legislation authorizing the use of military force in Syria that he has been seeking for months.

The administration is trying to make the process, one official said, “more efficient without cutting corners on security”.

Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, top Democrat on the Homeland Security panel, and other Democrats were proposing an alternative blocking admission for any refugees the government finds have not fully established their identity. But Republicans pressing for a pause in the refugee influx see a need to be mindful, too, about fears of an attack on USA soil days after the deadliest assault in France in 70 years.

Sen. Lindsey Graham of SC, GOP candidate for president, was one of those who supported accepting more Syrian refugees.

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”.