A group of House Republicans wants to defund President Obama’s Syrian refugee plans and institute “a longer-term monitoring process” for those who are allowed into the country.
“We cannot allow the refugee program to serve as a Trojan horse threat to American national security,” Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, wrote to House Republican leaders on Thursday. “Our sworn duty is first and foremost to the safety and security of the American people.”
Congressional Republicans have worried about the Islamic State taking advantage of the refugee program for at least a year. But the subject is back in the spotlight in the wake of Secretary of State John Kerry’s announcement that the refugee cap will be raised next fiscal year.
Babin wants House Speaker Paul Ryan to include a moratorium in the short-term continuing resolution to fund the government, which is expected to pass by the end of the month and last through the November elections.
“The director of National Intelligence, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the secretary of Homeland Security have each stated that they cannot properly screen refugees coming from Syria and the surrounding regions for possible threats to our national security,” Babin wrote in the letter, which was signed by 37 other Republicans. “There is no duty of the federal government more important than ensuring the protection of the American people.”
Republican leaders, by necessity, will weigh the proposal with at least one eye on Election Day. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is protective of the Republicans running for re-election in Democratic states, and they might not want to endure Obama’s accusations that Republicans are risking a government shutdown over the refugee program.
On the other hand, the concern about Islamic State terrorists infiltrating the country has been a potent political issue since the border crisis two summers ago. The issue helped bring Scott Brown to the cusp of victory in New Hampshire, for instance, where Sen. Kelly Ayotte is in a tough re-election battle against Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan.
