GOP lawmakers stand against Syrian refugees
In light of the radical Islamic terrorist attacks in Paris, state and federal Republican legislators are opposing Syrian refugees coming to the United States and Pennsylvania while Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey argued for tolerance Tuesday.
“Offering asylum for refugees, whatever conflict they are fleeing, is consistent with our values and history,” Casey, D-Pa., said. “We cannot turn our back on Syrian refugees. Turning them away on the basis of religion or ethnicity is inconsistent with our principles as a nation.”
Casey sought to temper the anti-refugee sentiments that began Monday when several Republican governors and one Democrat insisted they would refuse to have Syrians settled within their borders even though legal experts said states have no authority to deny access to immigrants.
Republicans were responding to reports from Paris that at least one of the ISIS-backed terrorists had entered France as a Syrian refugee. Gov. Tom Wolf, though, said Pennsylvania would continue to accept refugees and Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, a Democrat, said the city would follow suit.
Casey said the United States has a “rigorous process for vetting refugee applicants,” including in-person interviews, security checks, documentation and health screenings, that takes more than a year to complete.
“The process also includes an additional layer of enhanced classified screening measures for those refugees from Syria,” Casey said. “In addition, the U.S. government prioritizes admitting the most vulnerable Syrians, particularly female-headed households, children, survivors of torture, and individuals with severe medical conditions.”
In a conference call with reporters Tuesday, officials from organizations that assist refugees said none had perpetrated terrorist acts on American soil. Of the 19 hijackers on Sept. 11, 2001, all but one entered the United States on a tourist or business visa while the other was here on a student visa.
The refugee officials also described a tight vetting process and asked for sympathy as the backlash against Syrian refugees grew more intense.
“We are a nation that stands up to those who slaughter innocents,” said Linda Hartke, the president of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. “In this moment we must not, as a nation and individuals, be consumed by fear.”
But, as the week got started more and more Republican leaders, from state legislators to U.S. senators, issued statements against having Syrians in the nation and Pennsylvania.
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said Monday that most refugees “are innocent people in dire situations,” but insisted there is no reliable way to vet people fleeing from “chaotic terrorist havens such as Syria.”
Toomey argued that the United States should suspend Syrian refugee admissions until officials have “full confidence” there are no security risks.
U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Hollidaysburg, Blair County, said he is co-sponsoring House legislation that would suspend the government’s refugee resettlement program until the GOP-controlled Congress passes a joint resolution.
President Barack Obama’s policy of accepting Syrian refugees “is deeply misguided and puts the American people at risk,” said U.S. Rep. Keith Rothfus, R-Sewickley, Allegheny County, who called for a moratorium on the program.
State Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati and Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman released a joint statement saying that Wolf should not accept any more refugees until there is a method to ensure terrorists are not entering, too.
State Rep. Ryan Warner, R-Perryopolis, released a statement directed toward Obama, Wolf and Peduto saying their decision to continue taking in refugees “demonstrates reckless and poor leadership.”
While saying he has sympathy for “innocent Syrians,” Warner said “the safety and security of Pennsylvanians, and all Americans, must take priority.”
State Sen. Elder Vogel Jr., R-New Sewickley Township, Beaver County, also called for Wolf to stop accepting Syrian refugees. “We simply do not know with 100 percent certainty who are legitimate refugees fleeing a war-torn country and who are terrorists that intend to do us harm,” Vogel said in a Facebook post Tuesday.