On Nov. 19, the House of Representatives approved the American SAFE Act, a bill to suspend a program allowing for refugees from the conflicts in Syria and Iraq to come into the United States. In addition to the 242 House Republicans, 47 House Democrats joined in approval of the measure, making the vote 289-137. The vote record also proves a large-enough margin to be able to override a potential veto by President Obama. The bill was passed in light of the Paris attacks in which 137 innocent people were brutally slaughtered by ISIS agents and 368 were injured.
The approval of the measure comes in opposition to President Obama’s position on the issue, in regards to which he has stated, “As long as I’m President, we will keep stepping up and ensure America remains, as it has always been, a place where people who in other parts of the world are subject to violence and discrimination have in America a friend and a place of refuge”.
The bill still requires approval in the Senate, where Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has promised to do everything possible to filibuster and block the passage of the SAFE Act. However, with a great number of Democrats in the House voting with Republicans for the bill, a similar outcome is possible in the Senate. In addition to Congressional approval for increased screening of Syrian refugees, many state governors across the country have publicly stated opposition for any refugees to be placed within their states. The governors are mostly falling along party lines, with 25 Republican governors and one Democrat opposed to allowing Syrian refugees to be placed in their states. Additionally, one Independent as well as 17 Democratic, 4 Republican governors are either showing support or not making any statement on the issue yet. According to a recent survey, 53 percent of Americans are actually opposed to allowing any Syrian refugees into the United States.
The text of the SAFE Act states that the director of the FBI and the secretary of Homeland Security will ensure background checks to all “covered aliens" — what the bill refers to refugees from Syria and Iraq — and that the refugees may not be admitted as a refugee seeking asylum until there has been a background check certified as thoroughly sufficient to avoid a threat to the United States.
At points throughout history, the United States has shown itself, especially in the 20th and 21st centuries, to be a compassionate nation accepting of all refugees, no matter what conditions they come from and whatever the global context is at the time. However, unfortunate events such as the Paris attacks, as well as several other terror attacks in the past decade or so, pose a danger of infiltration within those seeking refuge from radicals by the radicals themselves. If the United States is to continue being the most compassionate country in the world whilst trying to provide security for its citizens, there will have to be some compromises in certain areas. Increased screening may make it harder for refugees from Syria and Iraq to seek asylum in the United States, but if it prevents the next attack like what was seen in Paris, then that eliminates the cost of American lives in the equation.
