Under Pressure, State Dept. Makes Chilling Admissions about Refugee Admissions
Published on September 29th, 2016
Even President Obama’s State Department admits that ISIS terrorists are infiltrating refugee camps in Turkey and Jordan. Spokesman John Kirby said that the vetting process is “not perfect” and cannot be “foolproof.” Watch Kirby defend the administration’s expanded refugee program with dubious talking points in the embedded video posted here.
But even if the State Department does the best possible job of vetting, refugees are being admitted at a pace that’s hard to keep up with. Earlier this year, Obama promised that he would admit 10,000 Syrian and Iraqi refugees, but instead admitted 12,000. And for fiscal year 2017 which begins October 1, Obama has committed to 110,000 refugees in 2017, up from 85,000 in 2016 and 70,000 in 2015.
Vetting 110,000 refugees is impossible. |
On September 28, during the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest, Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Jeff Sessions (R-AL) grilled top administration officials, including U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services director Leon Rodriguez, about the dubious vetting process. Under pressure, Rodriguez admitted that with the current system, refugees from Syria and other terrorist-sponsoring nations could fool even “highly trained” immigration officers.
And in an exchange with Sen. Sessions, State Department deputy secretary Simon Henshaw said that education, English language ability, job skills, and receptivity and familiarity with other Western traditions are not evaluated during an interview – only the refugees’ “vulnerability” is considered. That forgiving approach makes the process easier for refugees, but sends a frightening message to already skeptical Americans understandably concerned about the determination of the Obama administration to bring in more refugees against their will. Since 2010, at least 23 refugees have been implicated in terrorism charges.
Please go to the CAPS Action Alert page here to urge your representatives to pass HR 4731, the Refugee Program Integrity Restoration Program, which would cap admissions at 60,000 annually and would also require congressional approval increase the limit.