The Obama administration pledged to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees in the coming year, and Hillary Clinton said in the Democratic debate that “we should increase numbers of refugees [and] go to 65,000.” Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin called for 100,000 Syrians to be admitted.
Hillary promised that refugees would be put through “a screening and vetting process,” but FBI Director James Comey and National Counterterrorism Center Director Nicholas Rasmussen both testified that it is simply not possible to screen them adequately. Speaking cautiously, Director Comey said, “There are certain gaps in the data available to us,” and Director Rasmussen said, “The intelligence picture we have of this particular conflict zone is not as rich as we would like it to be.”
When the first Syrian refugees began arriving in New Orleans without notice to local officials, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal sent President Obama a letter demanding answers about how they were screened and whether they will be monitored. Jindal said that in light of the Paris attack, “it would be prudent to pause the process of refugees coming to the United States.”
Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX), a freshman member of Congress, recently addressed the House about refugee resettlement. “I found out that no one was asking—much less answering—the questions of who, how, when, where and how much regarding these refugees” Babin said. “Nearly 500,000 new refugees have come into the United States under the Refugee Resettlement program since President Obama first took office.” Babin cited numerous examples of refugees or their children who have been found with ties to terrorist organizations or have even traveled overseas to join the fight against America.
