Raising Refugee Cap by 30,000 does not sit well with Congress

Mark Linnhoefer – The Obama administration’s plan to allow 15,000 more refugees in each year for the next two years will have a hard time getting implemented as the Republican-led Congress would need to approve additional funding for such a project.

According to current law, the raising of the refugee cap would not require the Congress’ approval, but, as extensive measures in the magnitude proposed by Kerry require large sums of money, funding will need to be appropriated and hence a vote will have to be held.

Support in Congress is dim, and not enough to actually push the project through.

Many Republicans, and some Democrats, see an increased influx of refugees as a huge threat to national security and want the right to meticulously screen, examine, and reject anyone trying to enter American soil. These critics are mostly worried about Islamic State fighters sneaking in under the guise of refugees but are also concerned about the “public resources” being “stretched too thin” to actually screen for “extremist ideology”, at least according to Republican Senator Jeff Sessions.

Others  say that taking in refugees is essential “to maintaining and gaining credibility in the [Middle Eastern] region” and  that America would essentially be showing that it believes there is an inherent connection between Islam and terrorism if the refugee policy is not altered.

The Republican Chairman of the Committee for Homeland Security has proposed legislation that would allow for the meticulous screening and rejecting mentioned earlier. His proposed bill includes a prioritizing Christians and other religious minorities over Muslims when taking in refugees from Syria and Libya. The bigotry isn’t even thinly veiled anymore, it’s just blatant, good ol’ fashioned, in-your-face discrimination.

The House Judiciary Committee will have a hearing regarding the plans to admit more Syrian refugees in early October. This reporter surely hopes that the U.S. Empire will take care of some of the lives destroyed by the Empire-created IS.

Selah.