Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a GOP voice on terrorism and immigration, Thursday said that Congress should resist opening the floodgates to Syrian refugees before they are vetted for ties to “ISIS, al Qaeda, al Nusra and other radical Islamic terrorist groups.”
In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, Secretary of State John Kerry, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and FBI Director James Comey, Cruz, also a Republican presidential candidate, acknowledged the humanitarian crisis in Europe, but said the top priority should be protecting the country from potential terror threats.
ISIS fighters. AP Photo
“In the current threat environment — with an administration that seems more intent on responding to the interests of the world than the needs of the American people — Congress has an obligation to be vocal and, if necessary, resist this effort,” wrote Cruz.
“To be clear, this has nothing to do with immigration policy and everything to do with national security. Congress needs much more information before we can allow the United States to engage in a process that could wind up spending taxpayer dollars to import terrorism, much less fund that process,” he added.
The administration has indicated that it plans to let thousands of Syrian refugees into the country in a bid to relieve the pressure in Europe. While the media is playing up the plight of families, and especially children, others have noted that many of those fleeing Syria are young men and their political allegiances are unknown.
In his letter, which requests information on the administration’s vetting, Cruz raises concerns about refugee ties to terror groups.
“There is good reason to believe that ISIS is trying to use the outflow of refugees from Syria to help send terror operatives into Europe and the United States. Given these and other circumstances, the refugee flow out of Syria must be treated as a substantial national security risk,” he wrote.
One major risk he noted was the lack of intelligence the U.S. has on Syrians, and the Islamic State.
“Given that the United States has virtually no military or intelligence presence in Syria at the present time, which in turn likely means it also has zero ability to verify the administrative or civilian records of individuals making assertions of Syrian citizenship, please explain what serves as the basis for refugee application approval and/or admission to the United States,” he asked.
His letter is both here and below.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
