U.S. lawmakers called on Tuesday (October 17) for even tighter scrutiny of Syrian refugees fleeing to the United States as last week’s deadly Paris attacks recast America’s debate over immigration and national security, prompting a sharp rebuke from President Barack Obama, who said attempts to block entry were “offensive and contrary to American values”.
Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives, worried about Islamist attacks following Friday’s killings of 129 people in France, threatened to suspend the Obama administration’s efforts to allow 10,000 more Syrian refugees into the country.
Democrats also called for close vetting of refugees from the four-year-old civil war in Syria in case they are linked to extremist groups such as Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for the Paris killings.
The attacks focussed the spotlight in Washington on national security with the November 2016 presidential election campaign heating up and Obama in the final year of his presidency.
The issue has challenged America’s image of itself as a nation that welcomes downtrodden newcomers, with some lawmakers suggesting all Syrians should be barred, or that Christian Syrians should be favoured over Muslims.
Obama, speaking on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Manila early on Wednesday, accused politicians at home of trying to score political points.
“We are not well served when, in response to a terrorist attack, we descend into fear and panic. We don’t make good decisions if it’s based on hysteria or an exaggeration of risks,” he said, occasionally showing flashes of anger.
“I cannot think of a more potent recruitment tool for ISIL than some of the rhetoric that’s been coming out of here during the course of this debate,” he said, referring to another name for Islamic State.
Obama said refugees are screened for 18 to 24 months before being cleared to enter the United States, with the intelligence community fully vetting applicants.
“When candidates say we should not admit 3-year-old orphans, that’s political posturing. When individuals say we should have religious tests, and only Christians, proven Christians, should be allowed, that’s offensive and contrary to American values.”
The current U.S. screening process takes 18 to 24 months and is tighter than that in Europe, he said.
Other Western countries have begun to question their willingness to admit Syrians after reports that at least one of the Paris attackers passed through Greece in October.
Philippines President Benigno Aquino did not comment on Syria but said that he agreed with U.S. President Barack that laws on the freedom of navigation at sea should be upheld, a reference to the dispute with China over claims to the South China Sea. (Reuters)