
U.S. Congress questions plan to admit Syrian refugees
BY MARK HOSENBALL
WASHINGTON Thu Jan 29, 2015 6:03pm EST
(Reuters) – The Republican-led House Committee on Homeland Security is challenging an Obama administration plan to admit Syrian refugees to the United States, saying it could allow potential terrorists to sneak into the country.
In a letter sent to the White House, Michael McCaul, who chairs the Homeland Security Committee and Peter King and Candice Miller, who chair subcommittees, said the administration’s plan “raises serious national security concerns.”
The letter, dated Wednesday, said the United States lacks the resources to fully investigate the backgrounds of refugees fromSyria, a base for Islamic State militants, before they are admitted to the country.
Anne Richard, an Assistant Secretary of State, said on Dec. 9 that the United States resettled nearly 70,000 refugees from nearly 70 countries in 2013 and that the administration’s refugee plans would lead to “resettling Syrians as well.”
https://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/29/us-usa-syria-refugees-idUSKBN0L22WX20150129