Terror Threat? Surge of Syrian Refugees Into US Raising Security Concerns

Syria’s bloody civil war has brought the country’s largest number of refugees and asylum-seekers to the United States in a decade, and thousands more are expected in 2016.

But with the influx comes mounting concerns over whether the Obama administration can properly vet them, and keep out those with terror ties seeking to exploit the system. Lawmakers are worried that not only is Syria the headquarters of the Islamic State, but that the country’s state of chaos makes screening refugees that much harder.

“I agree that the vast majority of Syrian refugees do not have ties to terror groups,” [RINO] Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., who chairs the Homeland Security Counterterrorism and Intelligence Subcommittee, said at a recent hearing. “However, we have been reviewing the current security vetting procedures for a number of months, and I have a number of concerns, not the least of which is the lack of on-the-ground intelligence necessary to identify terror links.”

According to the State Department, 968 Syrian refugees have been resettled in the United States this year alone — with the goal of bringing upwards of 2,000 in by the end of 2015. Before the start of the civil war, the number of Syrian refugees entering the U.S. each year typically was under 30.

In addition, as of March, more than 1,500 Syrians have been granted asylum in the U.S. since the start of the war, according to the latest figures provided to FoxNews.com by the Department of Homeland Security. By contrast, the number granted asylum in 2009 was 11.

(Read more from “Terror Threat? Surge of Syrian Refugees Into US Raising Security Concerns” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.