Obama says U.S. governors’ refusal of refugees is ‘Shameful’

President Barack Obama’s administration has committed to bringing an additional 10,000 Syrian refugees to the US, but last week’s attacks in the French capital alarmed many politicians, mainly Republican, who fear the vetting process might not be robust enough to catch radical extremists or would-be terrorists. “It’s only right that prioritizes Americans’ safety first”, Reed said.

Dayton said Republican governors opposing refugees is “showmanship” by governors “who have no expertise in the area”. On Monday, Rauner joined almost 30 other governors who called to halt the acceptance of Syrian refugees after the Paris terror attacks until further review. He is the director of migration and refugee policy for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The Republican chairman of the House of Representatives homeland security committee, Michael McCaul, said his bill would strengthen security measures for all refugee populations seeking to enter the United States.

But naivete is not the likely reason Peeler, fellow legislators, members of Congress and various governors have taken this stand. The more probable reason is the cynical calculation that there is potential political gain to be made from exploiting fears of terrorist activity in the wake of the Paris attack. There’s not a high likelihood that they would ever come here.

“I think there should be a one-year moratorium on Syrian refugees coming into the United States until we have a system that we know is foolproof and know can work”, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) said.

Read Wednesday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

After an initial meeting of the House GOP task force Tuesday, aides to Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said the focus of legislation would be on stopping Syrian refugee resettlement until the administration can offer assurances that no terrorists are being admitted, including via FBI background investigations. While there are few Muslim voters in America, the pointed Republican resistance against Muslim refugees comes as party leaders try to win over other minority groups.

Obama took particular ire at a proposal by GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush to admit only Christian Syrians. And at least one Republican senator he wanted to insert a proposal to curtail the refugee program into an important upcoming spending bill, raising the prospect of a government shutdown over the issue.

“If there are concrete, actual ideas to expand the extraordinary screening process in place, we’re open to hearing actual ideas, but that’s not what’s been going on this debate”, the president added.