Last week the world watched in horror as terrorists took the lives of more than 100 innocent people who were enjoying a Friday evening in Paris.
This violence is just the latest attack in radical Islam’s war against Western civilization. And it was a stark reminder that we must be doing all we can to protect the lives of Americans and ensure that jihadists do not infiltrate our homeland.
That is why I have called for an immediate moratorium on allowing Syrian refugees into America.
The United States should not blindly accept thousands of people from an area of the world that is a hotbed of radical Islam — our national security should be our first priority. The refugees should be allowed to remain in the region in a safe haven protected by an international coalition.
News reports indicate that a terrorist involved in the Paris attacks may have entered the European Union disguised as a refugee, with a fake Syrian passport and doctored refugee papers.
Days after the Paris attacks, eight people were arrested at Istanbul’s main airport hub amid concerns that they were Islamic State terrorists posing as refugees on their way to Germany. Police sources said one of the suspects had a hand-drawn picture of a planned route from Turkey to Germany.
Closer to home, this week reports surfaced that eight Syrians attempted to enter the U.S. illegally via Mexico, and the government of Honduras detained several more Syrians who were headed to America using stolen Greek passports.
Could terrorists ultimately infiltrate our country disguised as refugees? If history is any guide, the answer appears to be “yes.”
ABC News reports that terrorists with ties to al Qaeda who attacked U.S. soldiers with IEDs were among refugees from Iraq that were resettled in Kentucky in 2009. While in the United States, the men provided material support to terrorists and were eventually arrested and sentenced to decades behind bars.
America’s top security officials concede that our screening process for Syrian refugees is flawed and imperfect.
FBI Director James Comey recently testified that “gaps” remain in our country’s ability to screen refugees, because of a lack of intelligence on the ground in Syria. “There is risk associated with bringing anybody in from the outside, but specifically from a conflict zone like that,” Comey said.
In short, we lack the ability to ensure that terrorists are not embedded among the refugees. We cannot allow terrorists to seep through a porous refugee screening process to kill Americans.
That is why I supported the American SAFE Act, legislation that freezes the president’s Syrian refugee program until a truly effective screening process is developed. This bill, passed by the U.S. House this week, would require the FBI director, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Director of National Intelligence to certify that each and every refugee from Syria and Iraq is not a security threat.
President Obama has threatened to veto the American SAFE Act and characterized opponents of his plan as heartless and un-American. But is it not his constitutional duty, and that of Congress, to protect the American homeland?
Blindly accepting potential terrorists into the country is not in our national interest; it jeopardizes our security.
Instead of transporting refugees thousands of miles from their homes, we should work with our allies to create a safe haven for them inside Syria or in other parts of the Middle East. Their safety and security could be guaranteed by NATO forces if necessary, recognizing that America cannot be the primary financial contributor to this undertaking.
We cannot gamble with our national security and risk the lives of Americans on an imperfect refugee screening process.
As the Paris attacks have shown, there is simply too much at stake.
Vern Buchanan represents Florida’s 16th congressional district. Thinking of submitting an op-ed to the Washington Examiner? Be sure to read our guidelines on submissions.
