Mr. President. our country has a proud record of admitting the oppressed as refugees to our shores. yet the debate about how to safely admit refugees from Syria and Iraq is a serious conversation that deserves a serious response from Washington. It is difficult to effectively vet immigrants from a wartorn country where records may sometimes no longer exist at all. Senior law enforcement and intelligence officials have expressed concerns and DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson has said organizations such as ISIL may like to try to exploit s100 the refugee program. So is it any wonder that the citizens we represent are concerned? According to one recent survey. nearly 80 percent of Americans and 77 percent of Democrats say refugees should go through a more robust security process. President Obama seemed to suggest these Americans were motivated by some animus toward widows and orphans. I would suggest they are motivated by a love for their families and communities. I remind the President that this country has a proud tradition of compassion. and we have settled millions of refugees from around the world. Many Americans are telling us they want to continue helping others. but they want to do it in a smarter and more secure way. So I want to say this before moving forward.
Keywords matched
refugees refugee immigrants