Speech #1140073122

He is the director of the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services. founded in 1971 in Dearborn. MI. ACCESS is the largest Arab American human services nonprofit in the United States. providing health and wellness. education. employment. and youth services in its local communities. including support for refugees settling in America. Hassan is a community leader and just one example of the many individuals who make up Michigans vibrant Arab American community. including some of the most patriotic people I know whose contributions to our culture and economy are invaluable. That is why I am so concerned about the legislation we will be debating later today. which would impose significant barriers on our efforts to assist refugees fleeing violence and persecution in Iraq and Syria. I am a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Last November we held a hearing on refugee resettlement. We heard about the strict security checks involved in the Refugee Admissions Program. which could take 18 to 24 months. The Refugee Admissions Program subjects refugees to the highest level of security checks of any category of traveler coming into the United States. They are screened by the National Counterterrorism Center. the FBI. the Department of Homeland Security. and the Department of Defense. as well as other agencies. Refugees considered for resettlement to the United States are subjected to biometric and biographic checks. as well as a lengthy inperson interview. all of which are conducted while the refugees are overseas. outside of the United States. Refugees are even required to repay loans to the International Organization for Migration to cover the cost of transportation and medical screening. At the same hearing last November. we also heard how the Refugee Admissions Program prioritizes the most vulnerable refugees. including widows with children. victims of torture and trauma. persecuted religious minorities. and those who face death threats if they return home. These cases are our countrys top priority for resettlement. I saw this for myself at the end of last year when I had an opportunity to travel to the Middle East with Senator MURPHY and meet members of this vulnerable population. Visiting the Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan. I saw the scale of the crisis that the world faces. Talking to just some of the over 80.000 refugees at that camp. who are only a small fraction of the 11.6 million people who have been displaced from their homes over the past 41/2 years during the brutal civil war in Syria. it was clear that none of those refugees were there by choice. Before anything else. they just wanted to return home. In the end. however. returning home is not something that is going to happen.