Barack Obama has hit back at Republicans who want to stop the US
taking in Syrian refugees – with the president saying some of the
language used in the wake of the Paris attacks only serves to strengthen
the Islamic State terror group.
Obama rounded on Republicans in Congress who are preparing legislation that threatens to suspend a US refugee program for Syrians – and on state governors who have said threatened to try to block the refugees’ entry. The Obama administration has revealed details of its screening system to reassure sceptical lawmakers worried about terrorist infiltration.
The House speaker, Paul Ryan, escalated the political row that has been growing since the Paris attacks by announcing on Tuesday that he had formed a taskforce to examine ways of forcing Barack Obama’s hand on the issue.
Obama, speaking in the Philippines where is attending a regional summit, said: “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.
“When individuals say we should have a religious test and that only Christians, proven Christians should be admitted, that’s offensive.
“I cannot think of a more potent recruitment tool for Isil [Isis] than some of the rhetoric that’s been coming out of here during the course of this debate.
“Isil seeks to exploit the idea that there’s war between Islam and the west, and when you see individuals in positions of responsibility suggesting Christians are more worthy of protection than Muslims are in a war-torn land, that feeds the Isil narrative. It’s counter-productive. And it needs to stop.
“And I would add, these are the same folks who suggested they’re so tough that just ‘talk to Putin’ or staring down Isil [will work] … but they are scared of widows and orphans coming into the United States of America as part of our tradition of compassion. At first they were too scared of the press being too tough on them in the debates. Now they are scared of three-year-old orphans. That doesn’t seem so tough to me.”
Earlier, Paul Ryan told reporters on Capitol Hill: “Our nation has always been welcoming but we cannot let terrorists take advantage of our compassion.
“This is a moment where it is better to be safe than to be sorry, so we think the prudent, the responsible thing is to take a pause in this particular aspect of this refugee program in order to verify that terrorists are not looking to infiltrate the refugee program.”
Fifteen state governors, including one Democrat, have said they will not accept refugees from Syria but under federal law they have little power to block their entry into the country or interfere with federal resettlement programs, many of which are administered by charities.
Ryan is under growing pressure, particularly from Republican presidential candidates, to take the battle to the White House by passing legislation that could potentially become attached to essential spending bills.
“The American refugee laws are important. It’s important that we have a refugee system in place,” said the House speaker. “We respect that, but we think it’s simply prudent that for this particular program in this particular situation that we be better guarded against any possible infiltration.
“We’ve assembled a taskforce starting Saturday to consider legislation as quickly as possible,” he added. “We’re meeting every day and we will bring legislation forward.”
Though the White House rejects the argument put forward by Republicans, officials are worried by what they claim are false rumours about the resettlement programmes and have organised a series of calls with governors to try to reassure them.
Obama rounded on Republicans in Congress who are preparing legislation that threatens to suspend a US refugee program for Syrians – and on state governors who have said threatened to try to block the refugees’ entry. The Obama administration has revealed details of its screening system to reassure sceptical lawmakers worried about terrorist infiltration.
The House speaker, Paul Ryan, escalated the political row that has been growing since the Paris attacks by announcing on Tuesday that he had formed a taskforce to examine ways of forcing Barack Obama’s hand on the issue.
Obama, speaking in the Philippines where is attending a regional summit, said: “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.
“When individuals say we should have a religious test and that only Christians, proven Christians should be admitted, that’s offensive.
“I cannot think of a more potent recruitment tool for Isil [Isis] than some of the rhetoric that’s been coming out of here during the course of this debate.
“Isil seeks to exploit the idea that there’s war between Islam and the west, and when you see individuals in positions of responsibility suggesting Christians are more worthy of protection than Muslims are in a war-torn land, that feeds the Isil narrative. It’s counter-productive. And it needs to stop.
“And I would add, these are the same folks who suggested they’re so tough that just ‘talk to Putin’ or staring down Isil [will work] … but they are scared of widows and orphans coming into the United States of America as part of our tradition of compassion. At first they were too scared of the press being too tough on them in the debates. Now they are scared of three-year-old orphans. That doesn’t seem so tough to me.”
Earlier, Paul Ryan told reporters on Capitol Hill: “Our nation has always been welcoming but we cannot let terrorists take advantage of our compassion.
“This is a moment where it is better to be safe than to be sorry, so we think the prudent, the responsible thing is to take a pause in this particular aspect of this refugee program in order to verify that terrorists are not looking to infiltrate the refugee program.”
Fifteen state governors, including one Democrat, have said they will not accept refugees from Syria but under federal law they have little power to block their entry into the country or interfere with federal resettlement programs, many of which are administered by charities.
Ryan is under growing pressure, particularly from Republican presidential candidates, to take the battle to the White House by passing legislation that could potentially become attached to essential spending bills.
“The American refugee laws are important. It’s important that we have a refugee system in place,” said the House speaker. “We respect that, but we think it’s simply prudent that for this particular program in this particular situation that we be better guarded against any possible infiltration.
“We’ve assembled a taskforce starting Saturday to consider legislation as quickly as possible,” he added. “We’re meeting every day and we will bring legislation forward.”
Though the White House rejects the argument put forward by Republicans, officials are worried by what they claim are false rumours about the resettlement programmes and have organised a series of calls with governors to try to reassure them.
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