Officials defend refugee resettlement program

It also would stipulate that no Syrian or Iraqi refugee can enter the United States until Congress receives certification that they are not a national security threat, he said in a statement late on Tuesday.

The officials briefed the governors on the rigorous screening and security vetting process that is required before a refugee is able to travel to the United States.

But Democrats say the changes would amount to shutting down the nation’s refugee program.

In the aftermath of the Paris attacks claimed by Islamic State extremists, and amid fears that one of the attackers entered Europe through Greece posing as a Syrian refugee, Republican leaders have sought to suspend President Barack Obama’s plan to allow 10,000 Syrian refugees into America in fiscal year 2016.

Top staff from the White House, Department of Homeland Security and the State Department fielded questions from the governors for 90 minutes and reassured them that they were doing the most thorough vetting possible of Syrian refugees, according to brief notes from the call provided by the White House.

Governors of at least 30 of the 50 U.S. states, all but one of them Republicans, including Louisiana’s Indian-American governor Bobby Jindal have demanded a halt to resettlement of Syrian refugees until security concerns can be addressed.

“We are not well served when, in response to a terrorist attack, we descend into fear and panic”, Obama told reporters in Manila, Philippines, after a meeting at the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit with President Benigno Aquino. Senior administration officials explained that the screening process for all refugees includes an intra-agency effort involving law enforcement and intelligence officials. He said refugees are also required to go through many in-person interviews, as well as a medical screening. Tuesday, newly elected House Speaker Paul Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, called for a “pause” in Syrian refugees coming to the United States.

Vance called on Obama to temporarily stop the flow of refugees.

“As Governor of the State of Texas, I will not roll the dice and take the risk by allowing a few refugees in simply to expose Texas to that danger”, Abbott said.

Officials “made it clear that there is a lot of misinformation about the type of people who are fleeing from persecution”, Inslee said Tuesday.

“I don’t want anyone coming in at this point in time”, said Kasich when asked if he would be open to accepting Christian refugees from Syria, an idea other Republican candidates such as US Senator Ted Cruz and former Florida governor Jeb Bush have said they remain open to. He is the director of migration and refugee policy for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.