The House of Representatives passed the SAFE Act on Thursday to suspend the admission of Syrian and Iraqi refugees into the United States until security officials can certify the integrity of the background check process.
Following the passage of the SAFE Act Congressman Fleischmann released the following statement:
“The United States has a long and proud tradition of welcoming refugees; however we simply can’t accept them at the risk of our safety. Senior law enforcement and intelligence officials have made clear that they are not confident in our vetting system and as such we must press pause on the process. The safety of American citizens will always be my top priority and until we have full confidence in our vetting process we cannot afford to admit Syrian and Iraqi refugees.”
Rep. Tom Graves said, “It’s obvious that the threat of militant Islamic terrorism is not, as the president claims, contained. One critical part of preventing attacks on American soil is ensuring terrorists posing as refugees do not enter our country, as one of the Paris attackers apparently did. While we are a generous nation, our national security comes first. Heightening our scrutiny of refugees is in line with our values and helps keep us safe.”
The SAFE Act places a moratorium on the admission of Syrian and Iraqi refugees until the following conditions are met:
· The FBI director certifies the background investigation of each refugee
· The Secretary of Homeland Security, along with the FBI Director and the Director of National Intelligence, certifies to Congress that each refugee is not a security threat to the U.S.