Obama visits refugee center, says US must welcome evacuees

But House Speaker Paul Ryan, speaking in support of the legislation, insisted “it’s a security test, not a religious test”.

Admitting refugees “allows us to truthfully say that we’re not hypocrites or bigoted against Muslims or people from other cultures”, Chertoff told the paper. We are a country that has always welcomed immigrants and there are none more worthy of access here than those escaping the horrors of war. “We must continue to have compassion for others, but we must also maintain the safety of Iowans and the security of our state”.

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

However, the worldwide Business Times reported on Thursday that all nine terrorists identified so far as being involved in the attacks were European nationals, and are not thought to have entered the continent as part of refugee groups.

And the U.S. Customs and Border Protection receives a manifest of all refugees who are approved to go to the United States eight days before their scheduled travel, while the State Department and Department of Health and Human Services work together to help resettle, transport and provide the necessary assistance to aid self-sufficiency and make the refugee a contributing member of the community.

Ms Jaber was present at the Stade de France during last Friday’s attacks, where two explosions were heard as the crowd enjoyed a friendly match between France and Germany. Per Snyder’s office, he wants a detailed response from Secretary of State John Kerry and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson that addresses concerns. Obama says, “The idea that somehow [refugees] pose a more significant threat than all the tourists who pour into the United States every single day just doesn’t jive with reality”.

Since October 2011, America has admitted fewer than 2,180 Syrian refugees. But things could easily change with the massive exodus taking place. But recent polls show that most Americans are leaning toward the Republican way of thinking.

The Islamic terrorists have repeatedly declared the U.S.to be their number one target, Weber noted.

Weber said it is important to stress that any such plan must include a means of ensuring that terrorist infiltrators can not get into the country along with those who are legitimately seeking asylum. It would also require the heads of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security and the director of national intelligence to personally sign off on each refugee from Syria and Iraq.

Of the 497 individuals charged with “homegrown terrorism” in the United States between 2001 and August 2015, nine had refugee status, while the vast majority, 320, were U.S.-born citizens, according to data from New America, a nonprofit, non-partisan think tank based in Washington, D.C.

CT Democrat Rep. Jim Himes, a supporter, put the legislation in perspective: “I’ve been out in front arguing against the xenophobia and the racism, but what’s been offered here is a bureaucratic fix”. But that’s a small price to pay for bolstering Americans’ sense of security. For us to turn back now… on refugees, is turning our back on who we are.