Syrian refugees and terrorism.
When it comes to U.S. Immigration, it
appears we are very good at ignoring the law.
To begin with, it is offensive, apparently, to use the term "illegal
alien." Instead, it is considered good manners to refer to the millions of
persons in this country in violation of our immigration laws as "undocumented
immigrants."
California, desperate for cheap labor, has
abrogated or otherwise ignored immigration requirements by issuing driver's
licenses, has encouraged local authorities to ignore an agreement with
the Obama administration allowing federal immigration agents to review
fingerprints under the "Secure Communities Program" in order to track down and
pick up every deportable immigrant arrested by local police, and incredibly,
San Francisco has opted to be a "Sanctuary City."
Currently, we have a controversy involving
the refugee status for 10,000 Syrians.
President Obama claims this process takes two years to complete but he
proposes that we do our part by resettling 10,000 refugees by October,
2016.
On
the other hand several states have given notice they will not accept Syrian
refugees. President Obama claims these
states cannot deny entry - but what are the guidelines provided by U.S.
Law?
The Refugee Act of 1980 was signed into
law by President Jimmy Carter on March 17, 1980. A refugee is defined as "any person outside
his or her country unable or unwilling to return to his or her country because
of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race,
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion." One wonders how many of these
10,000 Syrian refugees actually fall within this defined requirement.
Section (2)(A) of the 1980 Refugee Act: "The Director and the Federal agency
administering subsection (b)( 1), shall consult
regularly (not less often than quarterly) with State and local governments and
private nonprofit voluntary agencies concerning the sponsorship process and the
intended distribution of refugees among the States and localities before their
placement in those States and localities.
Accordingly, by law the various States do
have the right to refuse refugees. Criteria
for relocation include the
availability of employment opportunities, affordable housing, and public and
private resources (including educational, health care, and mental health services) for refugees in the area.
The most important consideration is the likelihood of refugees placed in the area
becoming self-sufficient and free from long-term dependence on public assistance.
The obvious question is whether we are
granting entry of terrorists among these refugees. On
the other hand, how many of the more than 11-million illegals already present
in the US are sleeper terrorists?
According to an un-named senior official,
approximately half of the estimated 11-plus million undocumented immigrants
crossed the Mexican border illegally; the other half simply stayed beyond the
expiration date of their visa or pursued refugee status much like the children
lined up on the Mexican border.
Additionally, the Cuban Adjustment Act allows Cuban citizens the right
to stay in the U.S. if he or she is able to set foot on American soil.
One wonders why a terrorist would bother
with this two year Syrian refugee process when all they have to do is become a
Cuban citizen or simply slip across the Mexican border.
Clearly, this country must make some
attempt to enforce existing immigration laws if the threat of terrorism is to
be taken seriously.