We can take steps togetherRepublicans and Democratsto make sure terrorists do not get into this country. and we can continue in the best traditions of America to be. as our Statue of Liberty says. a home for "your tired. your poor. your huddled masses." How do I arrive at this conclusion that we can do both. that we can protect our country and respond to the victims of terror in Syria? First. I asked the questions my constituents are asking: How can we be sure refugees fleeing Syria arent going to pose a risk to the security of the people who live in my State in Connecticut? Yesterday I sat through two exhaustive briefings to seek the answer to this question. and here is what I learned. There is no one who comes to the United States. in any immigration category. that receives a more comprehensive and exhaustive background check than refugees: biometrics. international background checks. interviews. fingerprintsa process that takes anywhere from 18 months to 2 years to make sure we get it right. It is exhaustive. and it is probably why of the nearly 2.000 Syrian refugees who are resettled in the United States this year. not a single one has been connected to terrorist activity. The other reason for this. as I learned yesterday. is because the profile of the refugees we are prioritizing for entry into the United States tells the story as well. We largely bring women and children. the frail and the sick. those who have been beaten. raped or tortured by terroriststhe ones who simply cannot survive in the refugee camps. It means that of all the Syrians who are already here. only 2 percent of them are young. single males. We arent bringing into the United States the type of people who fit the profile of those who could pose a danger to us. The second reason I have concluded that ending the refugee program really will not make us safer is because of conversations I have had with experts about the nature of ISIS itself. I dont think you can argue that ISIS has been contained. Paris showed us ISIS can be lethal anywhere. anytime.
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immigration refugees refugee