Lawmakers from both parties are calling on President Obama to halt his plans to bring thousands of Syrian refugees to the United States, and are pledging legislative action and even limits on federal funding if he refuses.
Republican were quick to demand that Obama to hold off on the plan to resettle 10,000 Syrian migrants in the wake of the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris last week. At least one of the terrorists is believed to have been a Syrian refugee, who entered the European Union through Greece.
“In light of the terrorist attack in Paris, I call on you to temporarily suspend the admission of all additional Syrian refugees into the United States pending a full review of the Syrian refugee resettlement program,” House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said in a letter sent to President Obama Monday.
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McCaul put forward legislation that would require congressional approval for refugees to be admitted into the country, and give priority to Iraqi and Syrian refugees from persecuted religious minorities, such as Christians.
“On Friday, the world became brutally aware of how radical Islamist jihadists will use every means available to destroy our freedoms and way of life,” said Rep. Robert Pittenger, R-N.C., who signed on Monday as a co-sponsor. “With compassion and clarity, we must take prudent steps to enhance the screening of Syrian refugees entering the United States, and provide law enforcement better tools to track American citizens traveling to and from Syria.”
But a Senate letter showed that even some Democrats are now worried about the risks that refugees from Syria might pose.
In a letter Monday to President Obama, a bipartisan group of senators asked administration officials to provide details of the process for checking the background of potential refugees to ensure they are not affiliated with the Islamic State, and any changes that might be made in the wake of the attacks. The letter was signed by Republicans Mark Kirk of Illinois, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Dan Coats of Indiana and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, along with Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
“While our country has a long history of welcoming refugees and has an important role to play in the heartbreaking Syrian refugee crisis, our first and most important priority must be to ensure that any refugee who comes to the United States does not present a threat to the American people,” they wrote. “Compassion for Syrian refugees is important, but a fierce determination to protect the American people is also important.”
Those concerns were also seen in several state governor’s offices. Nearly half the states said they would either refuse to take refugees, or asked Congress to stop them from coming, including New Hampshire, which has a Democrat in the governor’s seat.
So far, the Obama administration has said it has no plans to change its refugee policy. The administration plans to dramatically ramp up the number of Syrian refugees admitted to the United States, from about 1,500 in fiscal 2015 to at least 10,000 in fiscal 2016.
McCaul isn’t the only lawmaker to consider legislation aimed at stopping Obama. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., introduced legislation to withhold visas for people who come from countries where terrorism is a major problem and impose a waiting period for all other countries, “until the American people can be assured terrorists cannot enter the country through our immigration and visa system.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who is also running for the GOP nomination, told CNN on Monday he plans to introduce a bill that would block Syrian refugees from entering the United States.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, called on Congress to require that the Obama administration certify that it can ensure no terrorists are among the refugees before beginning the resettlement program.
“We must do all we can to prevent a Paris-style attack from happening here,” Grassley said Monday on the Senate floor. “Under the administration’s proposed plan, we may not be able to stop such an attack. We cannot tell who among thousands of refugees the administration wishes to resettle here are terrorists.”
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., has an even more aggressive approach, and is looking to use the must-pass omnibus spending bill as a way to stop him. Such a move would complicate efforts to pass the legislation by a Dec. 11 deadline, since Obama is likely to oppose a bill that would prevent him from executing his refugee plan.
Sessions, who chairs a Senate Judiciary panel on immigration, has formally asked the Senate Appropriations Committee to include language in the 2016 funding bill that would require Congress “to hold a separate vote on the president’s refugee resettlement plan to unlock funding for the plan.”
The move would essentially mean that Congress would decide whether the refugees could be resettled in the United States.
While some legislative plans are already in the works, members are also planning to call administration witnesses to discuss why they think there is minimal risk to taking in Syrian refugees.
The House Judiciary Committee has summoned Assistant Secretary of State Anne Richard to a hearing on Thursday examining the impact of accepting more Syrians. Others are demanding more information about the process for vetting refugees being considered for admission.
And House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., wants the Obama administration to tell lawmakers how it plans to combat the growing threat of the Islamic State. “We’re still learning more, but what’s very clear is ISIS is not a remote danger in a far-off land,” Ryan told the Bill Bennett radio show.
Ryan’s office said late Monday that this briefing would happen Tuesday afternoon, and would be open to all members. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and FBI Director James Comey will brief.
While the 129 deaths in Paris last week was clearly stoking fears in Congress about allowing refugees, President Obama himself on Monday insisted that America’s job is to take them in, and said the vetting process would help minimize those risks.
“We also have to remember that many of these refugees are the victims of terrorism themselves — that’s what they’re fleeing,” Obama said from Turkey. “Slamming the door in their faces would be a betrayal of our values. Our nations can welcome refugees who are desperately seeking safety and ensure our own security. We can and must do both.”
