Republican governors vow to block Syrian refugees

Fingerprints are taken, biographical information is collected.

Moreover, 26 governors, including one Democrat, have warned they would try to block the refugees’ entry into their states.

Governors from around the country joined a call with White House officials regarding the United States’ plan to accept up to 10,000 Syrian refugees.

“A refugee is someone who has a credible fear that they’re going to be killed”, said Alfonso Aguilar, a Republican who served in the George W. Bush administration and now leads the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles. Officials say 2 percent are single males of combat age.

Clowe is optimistic that with proper education the welcoming community of Jacksonville and already large population of Syrians in the city will accept future refugees. Thousands have fled war-stricken Syria, mostly to Europe, Turkey and Jordan, as the terrorist group ISIS has taken over much of the nation’s territory. No amount of vetting can ensure that a refugee is not a terrorist or a potential terrorist.

Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. Danielle Drake with Us Together says refugees trying to resettle in the U.S. must pass a 13-step process including a State Department background check and an in-person interview with the Department of Homeland Security.

The administration officials assured the governors that the refugees would undergo the most rigorous screening and security vetting of any category of traveller to the United States, the White House said in a statement. NPR’s Brian Naylor reports.

The bill steers clear of demands from some Republicans, including presidential candidates, for religious screenings or a complete end to the USA refugee program. “At first, they were too scared of the press being too tough on them in the debates”.

“Given the lives at stake and the critical importance to our partners in the Middle East and Europe of American leadership in addressing the Syrian refugee crisis, if the President were presented with H.R. 4038, he would veto the bill”, the White House said. All biographical and biometric data available is reviewed. “I told them that people in the United States are generous and good people but sometimes things happen elsewhere that cause people to forget about their generosity, forget about their native warmth and spirit”.

The administration sent two of their top experts in the area of terrorism, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey to brief member of Congress most of Tuesday, staying late into the night to make sure they answered all the questions they could. David Leopold is an immigration attorney who has represented refugees.

The Refugee Act of 1980 dictates that refugee resettlement within the United States is managed by the federal government.

The chorus against allowing Syrian refugees into IL is growing a little louder after West Central Illinois’ political delegation chimed in. About a quarter of them are adults over 60.

It’s a process that generally takes 18-24 months – possibly more.