Hearing Wrap Up: The Syrian Refugee Crisis and Its Impact on National Security

Washington, D.C. – Today, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the Syrian refugee crisis and its impact on the security of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. At the hearing, members heard from two Administration officials and several experts on the issues surrounding admitting Syrian refugees to the United States. Below are takeaways and key videos. Takeaways:

• Seth Jones, a national security expert at RAND, testified that there are higher risks associated with refugees from Syria for many reasons, including that Syria and neighboring Iraq have the highest numbers of foreign fighters on any modern jihadist battlefield. Additionally, he noted that ISIS has been active in some Syrian refugee camps in the Middle East.
• Anne Richard, the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration at the Department of State, conceded that the federal government has the ability to resettle refugees in cities and states that do not want the government to do so.
• Several of the witnesses, including Assistant Secretary Richard, confirmed that vetting of refugees and other legal immigrants has failed in the past.

Key Videos:  Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) questions the witnesses on the vetting process for refugees. Gowdy: “Has our vetting failed in the past?” Mark Krikorian, Executive Director for the Center for Immigration Studies: “Yes, many times. Just earlier this year an Uzbek refugee was convicted of assisting terrorism. A couple of years ago, it turned out that two Iraqi refugees admitted to Kentucky had their fingerprints on IEDs.”   House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) questions USCIS Director Rodriguez on the effectiveness of in-person interviews: “As the FBI Director noted, you have little inside Syria that you can contact. You can’t access national or local databases; you can’t interview neighbors; you can’t interview business associates or other contacts … Why do you think this interview process is so effective?”   Congressman Lamar Smith (R-Texas): “If the citizens of a state or a city do not want to have Syrian refugees resettled within their jurisdictions, state or city, is the State Department going to force them to take refugees?”   Immigration Subcommittee Chairman Gowdy: “The president says we’re scared of widows and orphans, with all due respect to him, what I'm afraid of is a foreign policy that creates more widows and orphans.”