Speech #1140064076

Keeping Americans safe is our top priority. And in the wake of the Paris attacks. that mission has never been more important. But in the days since those terrible attacks. there has been a deeply troubling debate about whether the United States should accept Syrian refugees. In the past week. we have heard far too many of our leaders stirring up fear and far too few talking about the facts. Mr. Speaker. Americans want an honest and serious debate about how we keep our country safe. but this bill. the socalled American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act. or the American SAFE Act. falls far short. Instead of debating a bill that might actually strengthen and enhance our refugee resettlement screening process. we are debating a bill that appeals to the worst in us and hurts the very people who are fleeing the violence and chaos ISIS has wrought. The authors of this bill boast that "this legislation would put in place the most robust national security vetting process in history for any refugee population." But the simple truth is that the United States already has in place the most rigorous screening process for refugee resettlement in the world. Right now. Mr. Speaker. Americas refugee screening process already involves seven different Federal departments and agencies. including the State Department. the Department of Homeland Security. the National Counterterrorism Center. the FBIs Terrorist Screening Center. the Department of Defense. the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Beyond that. every refugee from Syria is also subjected to an additional layer of security and scrutiny. This process is so detailed that it takes. on average. about 2 years for each refugee to be fully screened and allowed to enter the United States. under the sponsorship of a local service agency. and be settled here. Two years. Now. I would think that every Member of this House would feel reassured knowing that such a process is already in place to protect our citizens and our communities. We have already resettled over 1.800 Syrian refugees over the past 4 years in 130 communities across America. In the past year. Massachusetts has resettled 62 Syrian refugees. including 24 in my hometown of Worcester. Of the 2.174 Syrian refugees that we have resettled in the United States since 9111. not a single one has been arrested or deported on terrorismrelated grounds. Not one. I recognize that there are ways that we can strengthen that process further.