My first and most important priority is the security and safety of the people of the United States. It is with this in mind that I have spent the last week reviewing our refugee screening protocols and meeting with federal law enforcement and intelligence community leadership responsible for protecting our country. I have also sought the counsel of subject matter experts; listened to the questions asked and comments made by my colleagues; and read and listened to the thoughts and concerns of the people I represent.
All of this has convinced me that a proposed change to the current refugee screening process (H.R. 4038, aka the “American SAFE Act”) is not only unnecessary; it is counterproductive and will potentially undermine the security of this country.
The last two Secretaries of Homeland Security, including Michael Chertoff, who served under President George W. Bush, say that "the process that is currently in place is thorough and robust and, so long as it is fully implemented and not diluted, it will allow us to safely admit the most vulnerable refugees while protecting the American people." H.R. 4038 jeopardizes that goal.
Our process for reviewing refugee applications is rigorous and effective. It takes 18-24 months to review an application, and only a small minority of those who apply are accepted. Of the 23,000 Syrian refugees referred to the United States since 2011 by the U.N. High Commission on Refugees, only 7,000 made it to a second stage of our review process. Of those, only 2,000 were admitted to the U.S. And those were the most vulnerable - the children, the old and the families fleeing brutality and torture. Only 2% of them were single males of working age.
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In addition, FBI Director James Comey says this legislation is “counterproductive to national security.”