In the aftermath of Islamist attacks on Paris last week, two Florida Republican congressmen brought out proposals to ensure federal funds are not used to bring over refugees from Syria.
President Barack Obama has called for allowing 10,000 refugees currently in Syria. At least one of the terrorists behind the jihadist attacks in Paris last week came to France under the guise of a Syrian refugee.
U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Fla., part of the Republican leadership as senior deputy majority whip, filed a bill on Tuesday to ensure federal money won’t be used to transport refugees.
“Today, I will be introducing legislation prohibiting taxpayer dollars from being used to admit Syrian refugees to the United States because Congress must use its power of the purse to stand up to the president’s inactions to protect our country,” Ross announced on Tuesday. “This week, ISIS carried out a series of violent attacks in Paris, and reports have indicated at least one of the terrorists who committed these atrocities entered Europe by posing as a refugee fleeing Syria. These horrific attacks provide a warning of what can happen on American soil if we do not take appropriate and immediate action. ISIS is not contained, as our president has falsely claimed.
“Reliable intelligence about refugees from countries like Syria attempting to enter the United States is clearly unavailable,” Ross continued. “In fact, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation James Comey openly acknowledged gaps remain in the screening process for Syrian refugees attempting to enter our nation. Additionally, more than half of our country’s governors have taken immediate action to prevent Syrian refugees from settling in their states.
“At a time when the American people are calling on the president to reconsider his ill-advised decision to expand this refugee program, and when our own intelligence community has expressed concerns about our capabilities to identify threats, the president has instead selfishly doubled down on his intentions to admit even more individuals,” Ross said in conclusion. “The federal government has no greater responsibility than keeping Americans safe, especially our commander-in-chief. I will continue to fight to hold this president accountable for putting his personal political agenda ahead of the American people’s safety.”
Ross’s office told Sunshine State News on Tuesday that the bill had already won five sponsors including U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, R-Fla.
Ross wasn’t the only member of the Florida delegation to introduce a bill on the matter. On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Curt Clawson, R-Fla., brought out a similar measure.
Clawson noted Gov. Rick Scott, R-Fla., had urged congressional leaders on Monday to defund Obama’s proposal and introduced a measure to do just that.
"As a result of Gov. Scott's request to the Congress, I introduced legislation this morning to prohibit the administration from imposing unvetted Syrian refugees on individual states, until we get a vetting system that we can trust,” Clawson said. “It is not safe or right to put this burden on Florida, especially in the wake of the reported findings in the Paris attacks revealing that some of the terrorists arrived in Europe posing as Syrian refugees. I share Gov. Scott’s concerns wholeheartedly.”
On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Fla., announced he was co-sponsoring U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul’s, R-Texas, “Refugee Resettlement Oversight and Security Act.” McCaul’s bill gives Congress more authority over the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and makes the Department of Homeland Security, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation coordinate on looking at applicants and gives those agencies the ability to reject them if needed.
“Americans are rightly concerned about the integrity and availability of accurate information on those seeking admission into the U.S. from areas where the Islamic State is flourishing” Rooney said. “The horrific attacks carried out by these radical terrorists last week in Paris have reminded us how vigilant we must be to ensure our country is protected from internal and external threats. I am appalled at President Obama’s flat out denial of the potential risk of just one terrorist slipping through the cracks and waging an attack on our soil. We must not risk the safety of the American people because our president is being naïve.
“I support Chairman McCaul’s legislation because it ensures both Congress and the intelligence community has a role in determining who we allow into our communities” Rooney added. “This bill makes necessary reforms to the refugee program and I believe it is a long term solution to the problems we’re facing.”
In the meantime, Florida liberals fired away at Scott. Susan Smith, the president of the Democratic Progressive Caucus of Florida, compared Scott to American officials who did not let Jewish refugees immigrate from Germany in the late 1930s for opposing bringing Syrian refugees into the Sunshine State.
Smith pointed to the S.S. St. Louis which tried to port in Miami back in 1939 to allow Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany to come to America.
“Gov. Scott's demand that Congress act to prevent Syrian refugees from settling in Florida, reminds me of another shameful time in U.S. history," Smith said on Tuesday. "Seventy-six years ago, the S.S. St. Louis, carrying almost 1,000 Jews seeking refuge from the Nazis, was refused entry into the United States. Those refugees were forced to return to Germany where many of them did not survive the Holocaust.
"Republican governors and politicians are feeding hysteria that threatens to poison our country for years to come," Smith added. "By falling into this trap, we inadvertently support and further the mission of ISIS to foment hatred and division, and we will once again find ourselves on the wrong side of history.
"In school, we all learn the words to the poem which is inscribed on the Statue of Liberty," Smith said. "''Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!’ And who, today, is more tempest-tossed than Syrian refugees? No one is suggesting that we open our borders without security checks. But as leaders on the global stage, we have a responsibility and an opportunity to demonstrate the values on which our country was founded: welcoming those who seek safety and freedom from oppression. We can do better. We must do better."
Howard Simon, the executive director of the ACLU of Florida, also slammed the governor, insisting Scott should support Syrian refugees coming to Florida.
“Gov Scott should not turn his back on our nation’s long and proud history of offering refuge to those escaping from conflict zones – of welcoming the tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” Simon said on Monday. “We mourn those lost in the horrific attacks in Paris, Beirut and Baghdad, and wish to express our condolences, grief and condemnation. However, we must also warn against what we have often seen since 9/11: the impulse in the wake of a terrorist attack to overreact and curtail the freedoms that make our country great.
“By calling for the refugees fleeing Syria to be denied placements because of some perceived link between those fleeing violence and the perpetrators of that violence, Gov. Scott is letting fear take control,” Simon added. “Not only is the settlement of refugees an obligation of the U.S. State Department, not state governors, but the U.S. refugee system is extremely rigorous, involving multiple background checks and vetting by the Department of Homeland Security. By claiming in the wake of the tragedy in Paris that this vetting process is suddenly insufficient for Florida, Gov. Scott is punishing refugees for the horrible attacks perpetrated by the kinds of terrorists they are trying to escape.
“We should not give in to impulses to deny people rights based on their national origin, race, or religion,” Simon concluded. “Instead of blaming Syrian refugees for the very violence they are escaping, we call on Gov. Scott to affirm the need for refugees to have a place to take sanctuary from the brutality of ISIS.”
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
