Obama Accepts “Surge” Of 8,000 Syrian Refugees – More Than All Of Europe (And Hillary Wants More)

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

Despite “heroic” promises to accept 160,000 Syrian refugees, European Union member states have only accepted 6,000 to date while the US alone has already admitted 8,000 of the 10,000 promised.  So in light of recent terrorist attacks this begs the question is the U.S. being honorable or just dumb?  According to Nayla Rush of the Center for Immigration Studies the answer might just be the latter (although she’s far more polite than we are):  

Of the 160,000 asylum seekers in need of resettlement from Greece and Italy, EU member states admitted less than 6,000. “There is an obvious lack of solidarity,” Henry claimed.

This could be, instead, a sign of mere common sense. France has been under direct threat from ISIS and has suffered tremendously this past year from multiple terrorist attacks on its soil. French intelligence services know for a fact that terrorists from the Middle East have infiltrated refugee flows crossing into Europe. Many of those so-called refugees have been directly linked with the latest terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels. This particular climate is even jeopardizing the Schengen Agreement and its free movement policy, as many European governments have actually started implementing border controls again.

Meanwhile, on this side of the Atlantic, the Obama administration is dead set on admitting, as promised, 10,000 Syrian refugees by the end of this fiscal year (September 30). Over 8,000 are already here and there is no doubt the remaining 2,000 will arrive before the refugee summit to be hosted by President Obama on September 20 in New York. Not only is this administration right “on track” as we predicted; in order to meet its target, a special “surge operation” was implemented in Jordan to speed up the resettlement process and allow for the screening of over 10,000 Syrian refugees in just three months.

Keeping one’s promise is certainly admirable. However, keeping citizens safe should bear no compromise. France, sadly, learned its lesson the hard way. Let us hope the U.S. doesn’t have to.

There’s no shame in shifting gears. After all, as the French say, only fools do not change their minds.

Given the inability to properly vet refugees, even the New York Times has questioned Obama’s logic after a number of refugees have been arrested for prior links to terrorist groups or direct ties to recent attacks in Europe.

But the federal authorities have charged that Mr. Jayab, who was born in Iraq and came to the United States as a refugee from Syria, traveled to that wartorn country from late 2013 to early 2014 to fight on the side of terrorist groups and then lied about it to the authorities. He faces up to eight years in prison if convicted.

“Jihadists see these programs as a back door into America and will continue to exploit them until we take action,” said Representative Michael McCaul, Republican of Texas and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, during a hearing this month on refugee and visa programs.

“Terrorists would be crazy to wait 18 to 24 months while undergoing a rigorous screening process to get into the country,” Mr. Carper said in an interview.

Still, some members of Congress and security experts say the arrest of Mr. Jayab has forced them to question the screening process. Federal court documents show that at least 14 people who came to the United States as refugees have been arrested on terrorism charges in the last two years, including Mr. Jayab.

Despite concerns from European leaders, Hillary has suggested that Obama hasn’t gone far enough and would like to raise the annual admittance of Syrian refugees from 10,000 to 65,000, a policy which Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions says could cost American taxpayers over $400BN.  Hillary’s comments on Face the Nation:

“We’re facing the worst refugee crisis since the end of World War II and I think the United States has to do more.  I would like to see us move from what is a good start with 10,000 to 65,000 and begin immediately to put into place the mechanisms for vetting the people that we would take in.  I want the United States to lead the world.“

For his part, Trump has been quite clear that he would immediately shut down all immigration from Syria until “we figure out what’s going on.”

Unfortunately, only time will tell if Hillary and Obama’s admittance of Syrian refugees will have grave consequences for U.S. citizens.  For our money, the risk/reward of this particular trade seems skewed to the negative.