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USCIRF Chairman Robert George said the commission, an independent statutory body that advises the executive and legislative branches, “calls on the United States to prioritize the resettlement of Syrian refugees based on their vulnerability.” “Throughout the region, Christians and members of some other religious minority communities have been targeted by ISIL for persecution – and in some cases genocide – because of their faith,” he said. “At the same time, we recognize that ISIL has also targeted both Shia and Sunni Muslims who have resisted their violent ideology,” George added. “In these instances, religion, as an important factor in determining vulnerability, may legitimately be taken into account in the prioritization process.”
Syrian women wait to collect aid from relief agencies in the eastern Lebanese town of Arsal
The USCIRF reiterated its support for the ongoing resettling of Syrian refugees in the U.S. “The United States must continue to live up to our nation's core values which are reflected in our leadership in resettling vulnerable refugees,” said George. “That responsibility starts with a generous policy of admitting those Syrian refugees to the United States who are vulnerable to the most horrific mistreatment – including murder, rape, torture, and enslavement.”
He said the commission recognizes the threat ISIS poses to the U.S. but added that it was “important to underscore that individuals seeking resettlement as refugees are among the most carefully vetted people to enter our country.” “This rigorous individualized vetting allows the United States to both welcome Syrian refugees and protect security.” Christians, Yazidis and other religious minorities have often been particularly targeted by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS/ISIL) and other jihadist groups in the war zone.
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Thirty-nine percent of Syrians who said they want to leave Syria named a country in Europe as the place they would like to go. That made Europe the most popular destination for Syrians who would like to permanently leave their country. The Middle East and North Africa was the second most popular destination for Syrians who would like to permanently leave their country. Thirty-five percent of those who said they wanted to leave Syria named a country in one of those regions as they place they would like to go. Only 6 percent of the Syrians who said they would like to permanently move out of Syria named the United States or Canada as the place they would like to go. In January 2015, Gallup interviewed 1,002 Syrians who were 15 years old and older. Gallup asked them face-to-face this question: “Ideally, if you had the opportunity, would you like to move permanently to another country, or would you prefer to continue living in this country?” Gallup also asked this question among those who responded that they would like to permanently leave Syria: “If you would like to move to a new country, which country would you move to?”
Syrian refugees passing over a fence at the Turkish-Syrian border
As recently as 2009, 75 percent of Syrians surveyed told Gallup they would like to continue living in Syria. That year, only 22 percent said they would like to permanently move to another country. “Although Gallup surveys since 2007 have shown that the U.S. is the top desired destination for potential migrants worldwide and that Northern America (which includes the U.S. and Canada) is the most desired region, only 6% of potential migrants in Syria desired to migrate to either of these areas,” Gallup said in its analysis of the survey. “While nearly half of Syrians would like to leave their country, if given the opportunity, this does not mean all of them will,” says Gallup in its analysis. “Gallup's findings reflect people's desires rather than their intentions--but the implications are still serious. Contrary to other research Gallup has done on migration, demographic characteristics such as employment, income level and age do not seem to factor in to whether Syrians wish to leave the country.”
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 4,288,910 Syrians have left their country and registered with the UNHCR as refugees. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that as of October there were 6.5 million “people internally displaced by violence” in Syria. The UNHCR says that between April 2011 and October 2015, 689,365 Syrians applied for asylum in European nations. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs has estimated that the population of Syria was 21,533,000 in 2010. As of July, according to an estimate published in the CIA World Factbook, it was 17,064,854. The civil war in Syria began in March 2011.
Gallup: Only 30% of Syrians Still Want to Live in Syria
Granny says, "Dat's right - only take inna good refugees - the ones dat wanna quit bein' Mooslums and come to Jesus...
Religious Freedom Watchdog: Prioritize Syrian Refugees Targeted for Religious Reasons
December 2, 2015 – The United States should prioritize the resettlement of Syrian refugees “based on their vulnerability,” the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said Tuesday. He noted that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS/ISIL) has targeted religious minorities for persecution.
USCIRF Chairman Robert George said the commission, an independent statutory body that advises the executive and legislative branches, “calls on the United States to prioritize the resettlement of Syrian refugees based on their vulnerability.” “Throughout the region, Christians and members of some other religious minority communities have been targeted by ISIL for persecution – and in some cases genocide – because of their faith,” he said. “At the same time, we recognize that ISIL has also targeted both Shia and Sunni Muslims who have resisted their violent ideology,” George added. “In these instances, religion, as an important factor in determining vulnerability, may legitimately be taken into account in the prioritization process.”
Syrian women wait to collect aid from relief agencies in the eastern Lebanese town of Arsal
The USCIRF reiterated its support for the ongoing resettling of Syrian refugees in the U.S. “The United States must continue to live up to our nation's core values which are reflected in our leadership in resettling vulnerable refugees,” said George. “That responsibility starts with a generous policy of admitting those Syrian refugees to the United States who are vulnerable to the most horrific mistreatment – including murder, rape, torture, and enslavement.”
He said the commission recognizes the threat ISIS poses to the U.S. but added that it was “important to underscore that individuals seeking resettlement as refugees are among the most carefully vetted people to enter our country.” “This rigorous individualized vetting allows the United States to both welcome Syrian refugees and protect security.” Christians, Yazidis and other religious minorities have often been particularly targeted by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS/ISIL) and other jihadist groups in the war zone.
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See also:
Gallup: Only 30% of Syrians Still Want to Live in Syria
December 2, 2015 - Only 30 percent of Syrians said they would like to continue living in Syria, according to a Gallup survey that was conducted in Syria in January and published this week. Another 46 percent of Syrians said they would like to permanently move to another country and 24 percent said they “don’t know” whether they would like to permanently move or stay.
Thirty-nine percent of Syrians who said they want to leave Syria named a country in Europe as the place they would like to go. That made Europe the most popular destination for Syrians who would like to permanently leave their country. The Middle East and North Africa was the second most popular destination for Syrians who would like to permanently leave their country. Thirty-five percent of those who said they wanted to leave Syria named a country in one of those regions as they place they would like to go. Only 6 percent of the Syrians who said they would like to permanently move out of Syria named the United States or Canada as the place they would like to go. In January 2015, Gallup interviewed 1,002 Syrians who were 15 years old and older. Gallup asked them face-to-face this question: “Ideally, if you had the opportunity, would you like to move permanently to another country, or would you prefer to continue living in this country?” Gallup also asked this question among those who responded that they would like to permanently leave Syria: “If you would like to move to a new country, which country would you move to?”
Syrian refugees passing over a fence at the Turkish-Syrian border
As recently as 2009, 75 percent of Syrians surveyed told Gallup they would like to continue living in Syria. That year, only 22 percent said they would like to permanently move to another country. “Although Gallup surveys since 2007 have shown that the U.S. is the top desired destination for potential migrants worldwide and that Northern America (which includes the U.S. and Canada) is the most desired region, only 6% of potential migrants in Syria desired to migrate to either of these areas,” Gallup said in its analysis of the survey. “While nearly half of Syrians would like to leave their country, if given the opportunity, this does not mean all of them will,” says Gallup in its analysis. “Gallup's findings reflect people's desires rather than their intentions--but the implications are still serious. Contrary to other research Gallup has done on migration, demographic characteristics such as employment, income level and age do not seem to factor in to whether Syrians wish to leave the country.”
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 4,288,910 Syrians have left their country and registered with the UNHCR as refugees. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that as of October there were 6.5 million “people internally displaced by violence” in Syria. The UNHCR says that between April 2011 and October 2015, 689,365 Syrians applied for asylum in European nations. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs has estimated that the population of Syria was 21,533,000 in 2010. As of July, according to an estimate published in the CIA World Factbook, it was 17,064,854. The civil war in Syria began in March 2011.
Gallup: Only 30% of Syrians Still Want to Live in Syria
The Christian, a Greek Orthodox individual, is the sole non-Sunni Muslim admitted to the U.S. since the attack, which fueled concerns that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS/ISIL) may move terrorists into Western nations under the cover of refugee resettlement programs. According to the CIA World Factbook, Christians accounted for an estimated 10 percent of the Syrian population and Sunni Muslims for an estimated 74 percent when the conflict began in early 2011. Of the 237 Syrian refugees permitted to resettle in the U.S. since November 13, 123 are male, 114 are female. Of the 237, 65 (27.4 percent) are men between the ages of 14 and 50, while 55 (23.2 percent) are women aged 14-50.
Syrian refugees at the Azraq refugee camp in Jordan
Another 107 (45.1 percent) are children aged under 14, of whom 54 are males and 53 females. President Obama plans to resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees in the U.S. during fiscal year 2016. Since FY2016 began on October 1, a total of 528 Syrian refugees have been admitted into the U.S. They comprise 522 (98.8 percent) Sunni Muslims and six Christians – three Catholic, one Orthodox, one Greek Orthodox and one simply described as “Christian.” According to Refugee Processing Center data, 137 of the 528 (25.9 percent) admitted since Oct. 1 are men aged between 14 and 50; 117 (22.1 percent) are women aged 14-50; 250 (47.3 percent) are children, of whom 132 are boys and 118 are girls; and 24 (4.5 percent) are older than 50, of whom 12 are men and 12 women.
A Syrian refugee camp in Turkey
Since the Syrian civil war began in mid-March 2011, a total of 2,401 Syrian refugees have been admitted into the U.S. Of those, 2,241 (93.3 percent) were Sunni Muslims, an additional 60 were described simply as “Moslem,” and 13 were Shia. Only 54 (2.2 percent) were Christian (including five Orthodox, one Greek Orthodox and four Catholics). The remaining religious breakdown was eight Jehovah’s Witness, six Zoroastrians, three atheists, two Baha’i, one Yazidi, seven “no religion” and six “other religion.” Of the total 2,410 Syrian refugees admitted since March 2011, 659 (27.3 percent) are men aged between 14 and 50.
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“I think what we've had in the past is the government has said, ‘Well, we need to collect the whole haystack.’ And the haystack is Americans' privacy,” Paul explained Sunday on Meet the Press.“Every Americans' privacy. We have to give up all of our privacy. "But what I'd like to do is make the haystack smaller. So I think that we have to be very careful about who comes here from the Middle East. And I've introduced legislation to say, ‘For right now, let's stop it,’ from about 34 countries.”
Paul submitted an amendment last week calling for moratoriums on visas and refugee admissions from many African and Asian “high-risk” countries. These included Iraq, Indonesia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the Palestinian territories. Paul's comments were in response to a question from Meet the Press host Chuck Todd about what he would say to make Americans feel safer in the context of a discussion on whether the National Security Agency’s (NSA) bulk collection of phone records was appropriate. “You were on the forefront of trying to change this law. Any second thoughts?” Todd asked.
Paul replied that NSA's phone data collection was still occurring, but had failed to thwart any terrorist attacks. He also framed the decision to monitor phone records as a trade-off between liberty and a false sense of security. "It's been ongoing for the last six months. So the Paris tragedy... happened while we were still doing bulk collection, all bulk collection. Also in France, they have a program a thousand-fold more invasive, collecting all of the data of all of the French. And yet, they still weren't able to see this coming," Paul responded. “So my question is, how much liberty do we want to give up for a false sense of security? The government has investigated our program of collecting, through a generalized fashion, everyone's phone records in the country. And they have found that no terrorist case has been thwarted through this,” Paul stated.
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“As you know on the floor on Tuesday, we'll be voting on a visa waiver program bill that will tighten up the restrictions so that people that have, basically have those visa waiver countries -- for instance, the French attackers have a French passport wouldn't have to get a visa to come into the United States,” said McCaul. Tashfeen Malik and Syed Farook killed 14 people and injured more than a dozen others in a shooting at a social services facility in San Bernardino, Calif., on Dec. 2. Authorities said Malik moved to the U.S. from Pakistan in 2014 on a K1 or “fiancée visa,” and then married Farook. McCaul said there needs to be more scrutiny of the national security investigation to get the fiancée visa.
As Fox News host Chris Wallace explained, in 38 European countries, there’s a visa waiver where people from those countries can come to the U.S. as tourists, without any screening at all. “Can I just quickly ask you about that, because I think a lot of you may not know, for all the talk about the refugees, for all the talk about the fiancée visa. In 38 countries, a lot of them in Europe, there's a visa waiver. They can come into this country, a lot of them come as tourists, hundreds of thousands of them come without any screening at all. Does that have to stop?” Wallace asked. “Well, it does, and that's what our bill fixes on Tuesday, 5,000 of these foreign fighters that have gone to Syria and Iraq have Western passports, and therefore, do not have to obtain a visa before they come into the United States,” said McCaul. “Now, Chris, this is a huge security gap.
“It needs to be addressed and fixed, and the Congress understands that, as does the White House, and we intend to do that, but if you think again about the majority of the Paris attackers have French or other European passports, they wouldn't have had to go get a visa before coming to the United States,” he said. “That's a threat to the homeland. It's a threat to Europe, obviously, but the bigger threat to the homeland is the ease of travel visa waiver to get into the United States,” he added. “Another area, you were one of the majority in Congress who voted to end the NSA's bulk collection of phone data, the fact that my phone number called your phone number and spoke for X number of minutes, and that program ran out last Sunday, a week ago,” said Wallace. “As a result of that, that means that authorities are going to have access to only the last two years of Farook's phone records, but now, the previous three years because they have five years in their file, the previous three years, those years in their files are now off limits. Was it a mistake to end the NSA phone data collection program?” Wallace asked.
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9:40 p.m.
Mareman Azad of Afghanistan was among 1,000 protesters in Athens on International Migrants Day. The demonstrators were protesting plans by Greece's left-wing government to start detaining migrants who are due to be deported. They filed past an open air Christmas concert Friday at Athens' main Syntagma Square as a choir sang "Silent Night." Azad, who traveled to Greece from Turkey after leaving her home in Kabul, says she has been learning Greek while she waits for an opportunity to try and travel north. She tells an AP journalist that "I've been here for two months. I want to go to northern Europe, to France." Some 800,000 migrants and refugees have reached Greece from Turkey so far this year. Thousands are now stranded there by Macedonia's decision to limit which asylum-seekers it allows across the border.
Migrants shout slogans during a pro-migrant rally in Athens, on Friday, Dec. 18, 2015. The International Organization for Migration says refugee and migrant arrivals by sea and land into Europe this year are expected to top the one million mark next week.
9:10 p.m.
More than 1,000 stranded migrants and demonstrators from Greek left-wing and anarchist groups have marched to the Greek parliament and a European Union office in Athens, protesting Greek plans to resume the detention of migrants who are denied asylum in EU countries. The migrants, mostly from North African countries, chanted "Open the borders!" during the march Friday that ended peacefully. The rally was held to celebrate International Migrants Day. Reversing an earlier policy, Greece's left-wing government on Monday announced it would soon start detaining migrants who are due to be deported. Some 800,000 migrants and refugees have reached Greece from Turkey so far this year.
5:25 p.m.
American actress and activist Susan Sarandon is visiting the Greek island of Lesbos, Europe's busiest transit point for refugees and migrants reaching the European Union. Sarandon traveled Friday to the island's northern shore and spoke to volunteer rescuers and migrants who traveled by dinghy from the nearby coast of Turkey. Sarandon said she would spend the Christmas holidays on Lesbos to spend time with refugees, "getting their stories and hearing what they have to say so I can better explain to people back home what the situation is and hopefully learn." Earlier this month, U.S. actor Mandy Patinkin, who stars in the popular television series "Homeland," also visited Lesbos.
4:45 p.m.
Although Cruz was the first candidate to be asked about refugees, all of the candidates weighed in, and their responses are included below. Cruz said he understands why Donald Trump called for a ban on all Muslim immigrants "until we can figure out what's going on," as Trump put it. "You know, I understand why Donald made the comments he did, and I understand why Americans are feeling frustrated and scared and angry when we have a president who refuses to acknowledge the threat we face and even worse, who acts as an apologist for radical Islamic terrorism."
Cruz said his priority as president would be a laser-like focus on keeping the country safe. "What should we do?" he asked. "First, we should pass the Expatriate Terrorist Act, legislation I’ve introduced that says if an American goes and joins ISIS and wages jihad against America, that you forfeit your citizenship and you can not come in on a passport. (Applause) "And secondly, we should pass the legislation that I’ve introduced…that suspends all refugees from nations (where) ISIS or Al Qaida controls significant territory. Just last week, we see saw two Iraqi refugees vetted using the same process the president says will work, that were arrested for being alleged ISIS terrorists. "If I’m elected president, we will not let in refugees from countries controlled by ISIS or Al Qaida. When it comes to ISIS, we will not weaken them, we will not degrade them, we will utterly and completely destroy ISIS," Cruz concluded.
Trump: 'Stop With political correctness'
Donald Trump, asked if would "rethink" his ban on Muslim immigrants, was succinct: "No," he said. The audience laughed. "No," he repeated, this time to applause. "Look, we have to stop with political correctness. We have to get down to creating a country that’s not going to have the kind of problems that we’ve had with people flying planes into the World Trade Centers, with the — with the shootings in California, with all the problems all over the world." Trump repeated that his ban on Muslims would be temporary, not permanent. "But we have a serious problem. And we can’t be the stupid country any more. We’re laughed at all over the world."
Jeb Bush: No blanket ban on Muslims
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Brett McGurk quoted these words from Baghdadi in written testimony he submitted to the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Feb. 5, 2014. Baghdadi leads the terrorist movement that then called itself the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and now calls itself simply the Islamic State.
This week, testifying in the House Armed Services Committee, former Acting CIA Director Michael Morell gave his assessment of whether the United States should take seriously the Islamic State's threats to attack this country. "The head of the U.K.'s domestic security agency has warned that ISIS is planning mass casualty attacks in Britain," Morell told the committee. "ISIS has said that it wants to conduct similar attacks on the United States. "One of the things I learned in 33 years in the CIA is sometimes it is really important to listen to what your adversary tells you," he said. "Sometimes they tell you exactly what they are going to do." "ISIS has told us they are going to attack us here," he said. "Now that they have the attack capability in Europe, they are almost certainly working to do the same thing here, and unless they are degraded, they will succeed here. "I don't have any doubt about that," Morell said.
In his written testimony, Morell distinguished between two types of attacks ISIS could perpetrate here — "indirect" attacks and "directed" attacks. "In mid-2015, that threat was largely indirect — ISIS's ability to radicalize young American men and women to conduct lone wolf attacks here," he said. "That indirect threat remains today." "Such attacks have already occurred in the U.S., including the attack in San Bernardino last month, which in terms of fatalities was the largest terrorist attack in the United States since 9/11," he said. "Today," Morell said, "we face an additional threat from ISIS — a direct threat — an ISIS capability to plan and direct attacks in the homeland from the group's safe haven in Iraq and Syria. Just like the group did in Paris in November." "Nearly 30,000 individuals from over 100 countries have traveled to Syria and Iraq," he said. "Some are homesteading there to help create the caliphate, others will die on the battlefield, but still others will return home — carrying with them the potential to conduct attacks. This has already happened in Europe."
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Rubio said he's convinced that Obama would "confiscate every gun in America" if he could, even though "the last line standing between them (terrorists) and our families might be...a gun." Rubio was the third of seven Republicans on the debate stage to be asked about guns. Both Jeb Bush and Donald Trump said they would defend the Second Amendment. Bush said the focus should be on people who commit crimes with guns; Trump emphasized that guns also protect the innocent, and he agreed with Bush that mental health should be a main focus.
Moderator Neil Cavuto then asked Rubio: "You said that President Obama wants to take people’s guns away. Yet under his presidency, gun sales have more than doubled. That doesn’t sound like a White House unfriendly to gun owners." "That sounds like people are afraid the president’s going to take their guns away," Rubio responded. The audience applauded. "Look, the Second Amendment is not an option. It is not a suggestion," Rubio continued. "It is a constitutional right of every American to be able to protect themselves and their families. I am convinced that if this president could confiscate every gun in America, he would. I am convinced that this president, if he could get rid of the Second Amendment, he would. I am convinced because I see how he works with his attorney general, not to defend the Second Amendment, but to figure out ways to undermine it. "I have seen him appoint people to our courts, not to defend the Second Amendment, but to figure out ways to undermine it.
"Here’s my second problem. None of these instances that the president points to as the reason why he’s doing these things would have been preventive. You know why? Because criminals don’t buy their guns from a gun show. They don’t buy their guns from a collector. And they don’t buy their guns from a gun store. They get — they steal them. They get them on the black market. "And let me tell you, ISIS and terrorists do not get their guns from a gun show." (Laughter and applause) "If there’s an act of violence in America, his immediate answer before he even knows the facts is gun control. Here’s a fact. We are in a war against ISIS. They are trying to attack us here in America. They attacked us in Philadelphia last week. They attacked us in San Bernardino two weeks ago. And the last line standing between them and our families might be us and a gun."
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Senate Democrats banded together to block debate on a bill requiring the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence to certify that Syrian and Iraqi refugees posed no security risk before they could be approved for asylum. “That is physically impossible,” said Democrat Richard Durbin. “Let’s call it for what it is. This is an effort to stop any – any – Syrian refugee from coming to the United States, regardless whether it’s a mother with a child.”
Refugees and migrants walk along a beach after crossing part of the Aegean Sea on a dinghy, from Turkey to the Greek island of Lesbos
Backers of the legislation, which fell five votes short of the 60 required to advance, disagreed. “This is not an anti-refugee bill,” said Republican Senator John Cornyn. “All we are asking for, and all this legislation provides for, is to enhance the screening of refugees so that this system cannot be exploited by terrorists.”
‘Serious response’ sought
The House of Representatives passed the measure late last year with bipartisan support. The vote came as the world reeled from Islamic State-inspired attacks in Paris and amid concerns that terrorists could infiltrate those fleeing horrific violence and brutality. “The debate about how to safely admit refugees from Syria and Iraq is a serious conversation that deserves a serious response from Washington,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican. “It’s difficult to effectively vet immigrants from a war-torn country where records may sometimes no longer exist at all.”
Migrants and refugees use their sleeping blankets to keep warm as they walk along snow covered fields after crossing the Macedonian border into Serbia, near the village of Miratovac
The White House said the legislation was not needed, as refugees already undergo an intensive vetting process that can take as long as two years. The White House also said the bill would tarnish America's image abroad and hand Islamic State a propaganda tool. The Senate’s top Democrat echoed that line of reasoning. “This bill scapegoats refugees who are fleeing war and torture instead of creating real solutions to keep Americans safe,” said Minority Leader Harry Reid.
Catch-all debate
One-quarter of the 483 Syrian refugees admitted into the United States since Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS/ISIL) terrorists attacked the French capital on November 13--125 of them--are men between the ages of 14 and 50. The sole Christian among the 483 is identified in State Department Refugee Processing Center data as an adherent of the Greek Orthodox Church. Christians account for an estimated 10 percent of the Syrian population. ISIS has frequently singled out Christians and other non-Muslim minorities in its brutal campaign in both Syria and Iraq.
The vast majority of the refugees admitted since the Paris attacks are Sunnis--470 (97.3 percent). Three (0.6 percent) are Shi’ites and nine (1.8 percent) are individuals identified as “Moslem.” (The department says religious affiliation categories are those preferred by the refugees themselves; In addition to mainstream Sunnis and Shia, Syria is home to Muslims from the Alawite and Ismaili sects. President Bashar al-Assad is Alawite.) Apart from the 125 men between the ages of 14 and 50, another 106 (21.9 percent) of the refugees from Syria admitted since Nov. 13 are women aged 14-50, and 228 are children aged under 14 – 118 boys and 110 girls. At least two of the terrorists involved in the Paris attacks had posed as Syrian refugees, according to investigators.
The attack prompted a number of Republican governors and several of the GOP presidential candidates have called on the Obama administration to reconsider a plan to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees in the current fiscal year. Concerns deepened after the Dec. 2 terrorist attack in San Bernardino, Calif. by an ISIS-inspired U.S.-born son of Pakistani migrants and his Pakistani-born wife. Last week, two Iraqi-born refugees in the U.S. appeared in federal court on terror-related charges. The U.S. Senate is now considering taking up legislation that passed in the House of Representatives with a veto-proof majority last November, requiring additional screening for refugee applicants from Syria and Iraq.
Since FY 2016 began on October 1, the government as of Monday has admitted 774 of the planned 10,000 Syrian refugees. Of the 774, just six (0.7 percent) are Christians, comprising three Catholics, one Greek Orthodox, one Orthodox and one person identified simply as “Christian.” Of the rest, 756 (97.6 percent) are Sunnis, three (0.3 percent) are Shia, and nine (1.1 percent) are “Moslem.” According to Refugee Processing Center data, 197 (25.4 percent) of the 774 admitted since Oct. 1 are men aged between 14 and 50.
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In a clash with House Republicans at a Wednesday hearing over accepting Iraqi and Syrian refugees, U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services Director Leon Rodriguez delivered a strong defense of the Syrian Resettlement program. Rodriguez said he believes it boosts U.S national security to offer shelter to victims of Islamic State terror because it destroys the group’s narrative that the West is against Islam. Several Republican members of the House Homeland Security Committee had expressed security concerns, saying their states do not want to admit refugees from war zones in the Middle East who have not been vetted.
Leon Rodriguez, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services testifies on Capitol Hill.
Republican Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul cited recent arrests and the mass shooting in San Bernardino in December: “Just last month, the FBI arrested two Iraqis in the United States on terror-related charges. Both were inspired by ISIS, one had traveled to Syria, and both had entered our country as refugees. In December, two ISIS fanatics in San Bernardino launched a heinous attack that left 14 dead and 22 wounded. One of these terrorists came into the United States already radicalized on a fiancé visa.”
Officials from the Department of Homeland Security explained that refugees admitted into the U.S. from Iraq and Syria face a thorough screening process that takes an average of 18-24 months. The officials said about 2,000 Syrians have been admitted to the U.S. since the brutal conflict in Syria began. Thirty Syrians were denied acceptance outright and several hundred are on hold pending further investigation.
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