Where the candidates stand on Syrian refugees, in one chart

This chart shows where 15 candidates – three Democrats and 12 Republicans – now stand on whether to allow Syrian refugees to enter the country. Others have proposed putting all refugees, or indeed all Muslims, in a surveillance database, and forcing all Muslim-Americans to wear badges to identify themselves as such. In light of the events in Paris, it is critical, however, that the Obama administration consider the safety of Americans first before moving forward with plans to resettle Syrian refugees.

The minister of an Inland Empire church said it has received backlash after the church announced last week it would take in Syrian refugees.

The generally private, faith-based organizations which resettle refugees in Texas are openly questioning whether Gov. Greg Abbott has the legal authority to block all Syrian refugees from coming into the state, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports. We run the class check, which is run through the Department of State, we run checks with a host of intelligence agencies, so that includes the national counter terrorism center of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in terms of looking at law enforcement and others.

(Photo: The Christian Post/Samuel Smith)Refugee resettlement experts brief congressional staffers on the U.S. State Department’s vetting process for Syrian refugees on November 23, 2015 in Washington, D.C.

Although opposition to Syrian refugees has become larger in the wake of the terrorist attacks, there are still those who support the acceptance of refugees.

The Obama administration has stuck to its plan to resettle at least 10,000 refugees from the Syrian civil war.

We have the tightest system for any people entering the United States for refugees.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson emphasized in a statement Monday that it is the burden of the individual to prove they qualify for refugee status in the U.S. He also called on Congress to help efforts to expand customs pre-screening at foreign airports and fully fund the aviation security budget President Barack Obama’s has requested. Late last week the House passed a bipartisan measure “pausing” the president’s plan, with enough Democratic votes to override his threatened veto. He continues by stating refugees “receive extra-rigorous” screening from multiple government agencies.

“Nobody believes that 4 million Syrians two years ago before the disruptions started had lined up and said, ‘We want to start the 2-year vetting process”, Blunt said.

Adding to these fears is the fact that top national security officials within the Obama Administration have warned repeatedly that there is not sufficient data or resources to significantly vet the vast majority of refugees from Syria. They both sound Arabic, and if you’re xenophobic, you’re going to think they’re all Muslims or even terrorists. “So we know that they aspire to do that”. The refugees are screened before they ever set foot in the United States, that is one distinction.