Top Obama administration immigration officials are snubbing a Senate hearing on the president’s plan to admit 110,000 refugees beginning in three weeks, choosing instead to huddle in New York with United Nations refugee proponents.
Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions, chair of the now postponed Wednesday hearing, ripped the administration on Tuesday, claiming it was just the latest example of an out of control White House pushing President Obama’s personal agenda.
In a statement, the Alabama senator said, “Despite having sufficient notice of a statutorily required hearing regarding its plans for the Refugee Admissions Program in Fiscal Year 2017, the Obama administration has once again elected to subordinate both its relationship with Congress and the legitimate concerns of the American people to advance the agenda of the United Nations.”
In fact, the Obama team is in New York pushing a plan to get world nations to expand acceptance of refugees, especially those from Syria, and spend millions on that effort.
In New York, he said that settling more refugees makes America safer, a claim many critics reject.
According to Sessions, chair of subcommittee on Immigration and The National Interest, State said “not one official is available to appear at tomorrow’s scheduled hearing due to this week’s United Nations General Assembly and Summit for Refugees and Migrants.”
He added that officials from Homeland and HHS “also refused to attend tomorrow’s hearing in a strange display of bureaucratic solidarity with the Department of State’s indefensible decision.”
The hearing is required by law, so wasn’t a surprise to the administration. The hearing was to examine Obama’s plan to expand refugee acceptance to 110,000.
“The American people deserve explanations about the administration’s reckless plans to admit 110,000 refugees beginning on October 1, 2016. They demand that their leaders end the lawlessness and abuses in the Refugee Admissions Program, and that their leaders place the safety and security of this country first,” said Sessions.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
