Rep. Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, questioned officials from the Department of Homeland Security Thursday on why so few Christian refugees have been admitted into the U.S. from Syria.
The Utah Republican noted Christians make up 10 percent of the population in Syria, but the U.S. has accepted just 29 Christian refugees in the past year.
“They’re not fleeing because they feel safer,” argued Anne Richards, a top refugees official at the State Department.
Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., said the U.S. has welcomed just 53 Christian Syrian refugees in the past five years.
Pressed later in the hearing on her answer that Christians, a persecuted group in the Middle East, “feel safer” in Syria than other groups, Richards backtracked and argued only “some” Christians felt safer. She said that was because a higher percentage of Christians in Syria support President Bashar Assad.
Chaffetz also blasted DHS officials at the Oversight Committee hearing Thursday for their agency’s long-standing policy of ignoring the social media postings of foreigners applying for a visa to enter the U.S.
“It’s being reported this morning … that as early as 2011, Homeland Security was preparing to check social media, and yet Homeland Security decided that was a bad idea,” Chaffetz said.
“Even the president has made comments about terrorists who are really good at using social media,” he added.
The agency has fallen under intense scrutiny for its social media policy, which some have argued leaves a hole in the vetting process through which terrorists could enter the country unchecked.
“It is unclear what DHS will actually do when it encounters fraud via social media,” Chaffetz said. “It’s my understanding that Homeland Security might start looking at it.”
Leon Rodriguez, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at DHS, admitted social media vetting has not yet become part of the visa screening process.
