Congress votes for the American SAFE Act, but is it really safe?

The White House maintains that the bill would create “unnecessary and impractical requirements” on persecuted families seeking refuge in the USA while adding no additional security to Americans.

KUSA-The House of Representatives passed what’s been dubbed the “SAFE Act” on Thursday, which would impose special conditions before allowing refugees to be admitted into the US from Syria and Iraq. The state department also reported no Syrian refugee settlements in MS last fiscal year.

I don’t think it’s going to add bureaucracy, what it’s going to do is add a quality certification that doesn’t exist presently. If it were to become law, tens of thousands of desperate refugees fleeing the armed group calling itself the Islamic State and other violence would pay the price. Sewell said she supports the refugee program as a whole, but could not vote against the security of the American people. “Today’s vote in the House gets the ball moving in the right direction, but it is missing needed provisions that will avoid this same pitfall down the road”. “In a time like this, we must remain resilient and we must not sacrifice our traditions and our Christian values for political expedience”.

Pelosi voted against the bill, saying it was a missed opportunity because Republicans didn’t consult with Democrats on a bipartisan response to the Paris attacks. “With respect to Syria and Iraq, the American SAFE Act requires only that the President direct his Secretary of Homeland Security, Director of National Intelligence, and Federal Bureau of Investigation Director (all his appointees) to sign off on the administration’s screening process – a process that the White House continually asserts is adequate and ‘ensures safety.’ The plain fact is that this bill transfers the prerogative from Congress to President Obama and ensures the President’s refugee resettlement initiative will continue unabated”.

Despite passage in the House by a near-supermajority, the bill faces an uphill climb.

The American Security Against Foreign Enemies, or SAFE, Act passed 289-137, with 47 Democrats joining Republicans to approve the measure. They already go through a very extensive screening process that takes 18 months to two years, where only half will be accepted with most of those being children and mothers. “The president allowed these people to be driven from their homes, and now, terrorists can take advantage of the chaos that has ensued to infiltrate these refugee populations”. “Homeland security should never be partisan and our number one priority is to always keep the American people safe”.

The debate now shifts to the Senate, and Boozman, a Republican from Rogers, said he expects widespread support.

“I hope President Obama will reconsider his threat to veto this important legislation and instead work with us to ensure Americans’ safety”, Davis said in the release. “A lot of people have just lost faith that the president is taking these things seriously enough”.

“We want to make sure have the most robust vetting process in the history of this country”, Rep. Todd Young (R-IN) said.

That same day, U.S. Sen.

GOP leaders and bill managers oppose having a refugee vote on this bill because they say it is unrelated and want to deal with that issue later.