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Obama Plan for Syrian Refugees Scrambled by State Opposition

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The Paris terror attacks may have put a clamp on President Obama’s plans to resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees over the next year, as the number of governors saying they won’t take them swells.

At the same time, top congressional lawmakers are urging the administration to halt the plan. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul called on Obama to “temporarily suspend the admission of all additional Syrian refugees” pending a “full review,” according to a letter obtained by Fox News.

The resistance at the state level is coalescing at a rapid clip. So far, governors in at least 17 states have moved to suspend or restrict the refugee resettlement, including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin.

“Given the tragic attacks in Paris and the threats we have already seen, Texas cannot participate in any program that will result in Syrian refugees — any one of whom could be connected to terrorism — being resettled in Texas,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a letter to Obama.

Some of these states previously did not object to the refugee plan. But Friday night’s terror attack in Paris, which left at least 129 people dead, fueled fears that Islamic State militants are moving into Europe as part of the wave of refugees escaping the civil war, and could eye America next. Authorities say a Syrian passport found near one jihadist’s body had been registered last month and moved through three countries along a busy migrant corridor known for lax controls. (Read more from “Obama Plan for Syrian Refugees Scrambled by State Opposition” HERE)

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Syria Refugee Crisis: U.S. Opens Centers to Speed Vetting

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The Obama administration is moving to increase and accelerate the number of Syrian refugees who might be admitted into the United States by opening new screening outposts in Iraq and Lebanon, administration officials told Reuters on Friday.

The move comes after President Barack Obama pledged in September to admit an additional 10,000 Syrian refugees in 2016, torn by four years of civil war and disorder.

The U.S. State Department confirmed the plans to open a refugee settlement processing centre in Erbil, Iraq, before the end of 2015, and to resume refugee processing in Lebanon in early 2016, said spokeswoman Danna Van Brandt.

The White House would not say how many additional refugees it may take in beyond the 10,000, but two senior administration officials said they are seeking ways to increase the number . . .

The State Department runs nine screening centres worldwide that serve as meeting points for refugees and U.S. Department of Homeland Security employees who have to decide who is suitable for resettlement in the United States. (Read more from “Syria Refugee Crisis: U.S. Opens Centres to Speed Vetting” HERE)

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You Won’t Believe How Many Syrian Refugees Have Been Approved in the U.S.

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During a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest this afternoon, an Obama administration official made a statement that should concern anyone who is apprehensive about the national security problems presented by the influx of “Syrian refugees.”

Barbara Strack, the chief of the Refugee Affairs Division of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), admitted that a whopping 80% of refugee applications are approved worldwide. But as it relates to the Syrian refugees that have been processed so far in the U.S., that number is a dangerous 90%.

Throughout the hearing Republican members noted that unlike in most other countries we have no access to any database or background check system. “The things you normally check just don’t exist,” observed Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL). None of the administration officials on the panel could answer how Syrian refugees enjoy a higher approval rating than even the already high rate of approval worldwide when they have a nonexistent system to vet them.

As Sessions noted during the hearing, there have been many reports of Iranians pretending to be Syrian refugees in order to be admitted into western countries. Clearly, the alacrity to admit as many refugees from Syria as possible has allowed politics to trump the security of the nation.

On Tuesday, Obama finalized his refugee admission goals for this year in a memo. He plans to increase the refugee cap from 70,000 to 85,000 without the consent of the people through their elected representatives. In addition to the large increase from Syria, Obama has raised the sub cap from Africa to 25,000 and plans to bring in many more Somali refugees.

When asked by Senator Sessions whether refugees become self-sufficient, the administration officials said that 80% become self-sufficient within 18 months. When pressed whether the definition of “self-sufficient” includes those on welfare, the administration officials demurred. In reality, the welfare use on the part of refugees is astronomical, topping 93% among those from the Middle East.

Also, as Senator Sessions noted, we’ve already spent $4.5 billion through our foreign policy program to deal with the refugee situation. It’s not as if we have not been “generous.” What’s more disconcerting is that the increase in refugees will now be funded from USCIS fees paid for by other categories of legal immigrants, essentially forcing vetted immigrants to subsidize the importation of predominantly Sharia adherents to our shores.

Much like with the 1965 immigration bill, the promises of the politicians with regards to the refugee program have been completely divorced from reality. (For more from the author of “You Won’t Believe How Many Syrian Refugees Have Been Approved in the U.S.” please click HERE)

Watch a recent interview with the author below:

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This Country Says It Must Look After Its Own Before Allowing in Syrian Refugees

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Japan must improve the living standards of its own people before it can consider accepting Syrian refugees, the prime minister, Shinzo Abe said, as he announced $1.6b in new assistance for Syrians and Iraqis caught up in conflicts in the Middle East.

Abe’s consistent refusal to consider allowing even a modest number of refugees to relocate to Japan has prompted criticism of the country’s strict policy on asylum: last year, it received a record 5,000 applications but accepted just 11 people.

Speaking at the UN general assembly in New York, Abe insisted Japan must first tackle crises posed by its falling birth rate and an ageing population, and continue its push to boost the number of women in the labour market.

“It is an issue of demography,” Abe told reporters after his speech to the UN general assembly. “I would say that before accepting immigrants or refugees, we need to have more activities by women, elderly people and we must raise our birth rate. There are many things that we should do before accepting immigrants” . . .

“Japan would like to contribute by changing the conditions that give rise to refugees. The cause of this tragedy is the fear of violence and terrorism, and terror of poverty. The world must cooperate in order for them to find a way to escape poverty.” (Read more from “This Country Says It Must Look After Its Own Before Allowing in Syrian Refugees” HERE)

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Another Country Is Refusing to Take More Syrian Refugees

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refugee-crisis-transit-670x499By Kenneth Chan. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government has no plans to drastically increase the number of Syrian refugees permitted to resettle in Canada.

During a Q&A session on his Facebook page this morning, Harper maintained that a thorough security screening process is needed for each refugee being considered entry given the risk that a terrorist could slip through.

“The situation in Syria and Iraq is troubling. Laureen and I were touched, just like all Canadians, at the pictures from last week,” Harper wrote on Facebook. “But, to help we must ensure we screen every potential refugee carefully.”

“We have been clear that we are willing to take more people, but we must be sure we are helping the most vulnerable. We cannot open the floodgates and airlift tens of thousands of refugees out of a terrorist war zone without proper process. That is too great a risk for Canada.”

The security screening used by the federal government includes the use of a time and labour-intensive biometric system, which will be expanded to the visa applications of all tourists, students, immigrants, migrant workers and refugees by 2018. (Read more from “This Country Is Refusing to Take Syrian Refugees” HERE)

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Mexico Opening Door to Syrian Refugees

By Brandon Darby. Prominent Mexican officials are calling on their president to open the doors for 10,000 Syrian refugees, though thousands of Mexicans per year are fleeing their cartel-controlled nation and its violence and seeking asylum in the United States. The move comes on the heels of Mexico accepting 30 Syrian students. Other nations south of the porous U.S.-Mexico border have already opened their doors for people fleeing the Middle East.

Considering the Mexican government’s inability to govern its own territory and the willingness of Mexican officials to accept cash bribes, one could question whether their screening process would exclude potentially dangerous individuals. Even in the case of an individual being identified having a connection to a terrorist organization, a wealthy benefactor or ally of the individual could simply pay off a decision-maker and get the individual through.

An article posted by the GlobalPost.com built a case for Mexico opening the doors for Syrians. They wrote:

GUADALAJARA, Mexico — Mexico has a proud history of welcoming refugees fleeing war and persecution around the world . . .

Senators of all political stripes on Thursday implored President Enrique Peña Nieto and his government to allow in as many Syrian refugees as possible.

(Read more from this story HERE)

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