Syrian Refugee Information

Dear Friends,

With all the news about Syrian Refugees, I thought it would be helpful to share some information about the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and some key facts about the issue.

Sincerely,

Ted

Background on the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program:

• Each year, and after “appropriate consultation” with Congress, the President sets the ceiling for the number of refugees that can be admitted to the United States during the next fiscal year.
   
• Under current law, the President has the authority to admit additional numbers of refugees during the fiscal year for which a ceiling is already set.
   
• For Fiscal Year 2016, President Obama has set the overall refugee ceiling at 85,000 and announced that the Administration will admit 10,000 Syrian refugees over the coming year. The Obama Administration has also left the door open to admitting more Syrian refugees.
   
• Any refugee being admitted to the United States must go through a background check, including biographic name checks and fingerprint checks. This information is vetted against a broad array of law enforcement and intelligence community databases to check for any derogatory information on the individual.
   
• However, despite the background check, top national security officials have testified before Congress that the government does not have the resources to fully vet refugees, especially from countries where we lack a law enforcement presence and the country’s government is in shambles.
   
• In Fiscal Year 2015, of the nearly 1,700 Syrian refugees resettled in the U.S., 1.72% identified themselves as Christians and 93.52% identified themselves as Sunni Muslims.

Points of Interest:

•          While the United States already has the most generous refugee policies in the world, we must ensure that those seeking refuge in the United States do not pose national security threats to our nation.
   
•          Top national security officials within the Obama Administration, including FBI Director Comey, have repeatedly warned that the U.S. government does not have the resources and dramatically lacks the information needed to fully vet refugees from Syria.
   
•          At a recent House Judiciary Committee hearing, Director Comey could not offer any assurances that there is no risk associated with admitting Syrian refugees to the United States.
   
•          ISIS also has vowed to use the refugee system to enter Western countries. In fact, one of the terrorists that took part in the Paris attacks entered Europe as a Syrian refugee.
   
•          Despite warnings from top national security officials and the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, President Obama continues to move forward with his plan to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees into the United States over the coming year.
   
•          The primary duty of the federal government is to protect Americans from harm. Admitting Syrian refugees unnecessarily places national security and American lives at risk.
   
•          As we examine the Administration’s plan and the overall refugee program, it’s important to remember that most refugees prefer to go back to their home countries and live in peace.
   
•          The best way to stem this refugee crisis is to promote peace in the region and support humanitarian operations in affected countries and not try to bring more and more people to the United States.