Widows, Orphans, Tourists? Obama Angry about Bill to Better Vet Refugees
Published on November 20th, 2015
President Obama chided his Congressional GOP opponents who want a pause in resettling Syrian and Iraqi refugees, and accused them of “being scared of widows and orphans.” Obama later compounded his insult when he said that Syrians are no greater a threat to Americans than the thousands of tourists that visit every year. Trey Gowdy, Chair of the House Judiciary immigration sub-committee, countered that Obama’s foreign policy creates “orphans and widows.”
But while there may be a scattered widow or an orphan among the migrants, the Syrian population within the United States is split, roughly 50 percent each for males and females. Among males, 40.3 percent are between 21 and 50. Fox Business News broke down the data on its November 18 show.
Angry Obama dismisses valid terrorism concerns of Americans. |
Impressive security experts took no comfort in Obama’s invective, and have testified that, at the least, admitting Syrian refugees to the U.S. could result in a terrorist attack against our country. Among those who urge pausing on Syrian refugees are FBI Director James Comey, FBI counter-terrorism Chief Michael Steinbach, State Department spokesman Admiral John Kirby, retired U.S. Marine Corp four-star General John Allen, and Director of National Intelligence James Klapper. Follow their testimonies before the House Homeland Security Committee earlier this year here.
The expert testimony led to Obama’s overwhelming 289-137 defeat as the House passed H.R. 4038, the American Security against Foreign Enemies (SAFE) Act, which would stop Syrian and Iraqi refugees from entering the country unless certified by the agency heads of some of those same terrorism professionals – the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and the Director of National Intelligence. Republicans unanimously voted for the bill and were joined by 47 Democrats, giving the House a veto-proof majority of 289 yea votes.
Other developments no doubt contributed to the strong House support. A day before the vote, Honduran police caught five Syrians with stolen or altered passports on their way to the U.S. on a circuitous route that took them through Lebanon, Turkey, then on to Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica and Honduras. Another contributing factor in H.R. 4038’s success: according to German officials, one in three refugees trying to enter their country as Syrians lies about nationality.
While H.R. 4038 is a step in the right direction, Texas U.S. Rep. Brian Babin introduced an even stronger bill. H.R. 3314, the Resettlement Accountability National Security Act, would suspend the resettlement program for 180 days and require a GAO study within 90 days on the economic impact on state and local governments. House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions and others in Republican leadership rejected Babin’s amendment, and instead opted for a closed rule that enabled leadership to rush through H.R. 4038.
Before the vote, the White House launched a nasty Twitter campaign that advocated for more Syrians, and called its opponents “appalling, racist, and wrong.” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid predicts that it won’t pass the upper chamber, and if it does, Obama promised to veto it.
But incumbent Senate Democrats are in re-election mode, and could be persuaded to back the bill since they know that Americans want greater security. Call your Senator, and use the talking points in this CAPS Action Alert to demand that the safety of Americans take priority over maintaining Obama’s dangerous refugee agenda.