When you look at the refugee process - it's two years of vetting and checking.
We have settled 784,000 refugees since 9/11. Since then, exactly three have been arrested in relation to terrorist activities. Of those 3 - 2 were not planning an attack in the US and "
the plans of the third were barely credible"
We are not like the European continent and are isolated from the direct influx of refugees by an ocean.
The most common arguments against resettling more Syrian refugees, made by some Republican presidential candidates and members of Congress, is that the resettlement program could be a path for infiltration into the United States by ISIS or other terrorists. But the refugee resettlement program is the least likely avenue for a terrorist to choose. Refugees who are selected for resettlement to the United States go through a painstaking, many-layered review before they are accepted. The FBI, Department of Homeland Security, State Department, and national intelligence agencies independently check refugees’ biometric data against security databases. The whole process typically takes 18-24 months, with high hurdles for security clearance.
The United States is protected by geography from the inflow of asylum seekers who are entering Europe, mainly through Greece and Italy. Almost 600,000 have arrived in Europe so far this year—as many as 1 million may have entered by year’s end. The majority are unquestionably refugees. Germany and other European states have not invited them or agreed in advance to accept them—the refugees have just arrived, after dangerous journeys across the sea and overland. But European states are bound by their international obligations not to return them to danger. The United States, by contrast, has the luxury of choice of which refugees to admit through its resettlement program, from Syria, Iraq, or elsewhere. How robustly will it exercise that choice?
Rational "caution" would tell us this is not where we need to concentrate our efforts, rather we should look at other avenues of entry that are a higher risk for ISIS infiltration than the refugee process.
So yes, the politics of fear.
For you it is fear, the practice today of vetting is not adequate it is really that simple, I say caution. If there is any hate or fear it is coming from you.
No hatred or fear from me, simply a logical look at things. It's amazing how quickly logic goes out the window when the fear becomes the overriding emotion.
Logic says develop a means to effectively vet then allow them in, what you suggest is to throw all caution to the wind. Yes you castigate those who wish to preserve our way of life free from terrorism that is both hateful and fearful.
I can understand reasonable caution - are you suggesting
that is all that is driving this? Listen to the rhetoric around and listen to the Republicans whipping up the frenzy:
Trump:
Trump would not rule out warrantless searches in his plans for increased surveillance of the nation’s Muslims, Yahoo reported Thursday.
He also remained open toward registering U.S. Muslims in a database or giving them special identification identifying their faith, the news outlet added.
Cruz:
Sen. Ted Cruz Sunday continued to call for Muslim refugees from Syria to be barred from entering the United States but opening the borders to displaced Christians, arguing there is not a "meaningful risk" that Christians will commit terrorist acts.
Rep. Mike Moon:
"For the safety of Missourians, we can ill-afford to wait," Moon wrote in the letter. "I ask that you begin the process of calling the General Assembly into Special Session in order to tie the Governor's hands, putting a stop to the potential Islamization of Missouri." ...Our preference, as a nation, should be to place the refugees in camps so that they can be properly cared for and returned safely home when the time is right.
TN State House Glen Casada:
"I'm not worried about what a bureaucrat in D.C. or an unelected judge thinks. ... We need to gather [Syrian refugees] up and politely take them back to the ICE [federal immigration] center and say, 'They're not coming to Tennessee, they're yours,'" Tennessee state House GOP Caucus Chairman Glen Casada told The Tennessean Tuesday.
"We need to activate the Tennessee National Guard and stop them from coming in to the state by whatever means we can. ... Tennessee is a sovereign state. If the federal government is forsaking the obligation to protect our citizens, we need to act," he said.
State Sen. Elaine Morgan (R):
“If we need to take these people in we should set up [a] refugee camp to keep them segregated from our populous.” Morgan wrote in the email. “I think the protection of our US citizens and the United States of America should be the most important issue here.”
Morgan also launched into a bigoted attack on Muslim people by lumping the entire religious community together with Islamic State terrorists.
“The Muslim religion and philosophy is to murder, rape, and decapitate anyone who is a non Muslim,” she wrote, also stating, “I do not want our governor bringing in any Syrian refugees. I think our country is under attack. I think this is a major plan by these countries to spread out their people to attack all non Muslim persons.”
On preserving our way of life:
Obama:
Speaking at a G-20 summit in Turkey, President Barack Obama chastised politicians across the aisle for advocating for a "religious test" for individuals fleeing persecution in war-torn countries.
"That's shameful. That's not American. That's not who we are," Obama said. The values we are fighting against ISIL for are precisely that we don't discriminate against people because of their faith. We don't kill people because they're different than us. That's what separates us from them."
Rep. Aaron Regunberg
...pointed out that his own grandfather was forced to flee Nazi Germany as a refugee. “I am alive today because — after great desperation and hardship — my grandfather was able to flee Nazi Germany and find safety as a refugee in the Philippines,” he wrote in a letter to Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo. “We can do this responsibly and safely, and I urge you to keep Rhode Island true to its long history of welcoming those who seek sanctuary from persecution,”
G.W. Bush:
"The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about," Bush said in 2001. "Islam is peace."
In no way am I suggesting we "throw all caution to the wind", so let's be honest here.
FBI Director James Comey balks at refugee legislation - CNNPolitics.com
There are always risks in allowing any foreigners into the U.S., Comey told the officials, adding that the FBI believes it has an effective process with intelligence and other agencies to conduct vetting of refugees.