House approves ‘pause’ in Syrian refugee program

WASHINGTON — Over the objections of President Barack Obama and most Democrats, the House approved legislation Thursday that would block Syrian and Iraqi refugees admission to the United States under a current screening process that Republicans say could be exploited by ISIS terrorists.

Three Nevada Republicans — Cresent Hardy, Joe Heck and Mark Amodei — supported the legislation, which Obama has threatened to veto. Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., opposed it.

The bill cleared the House by a veto-proof margin, 289-137, with 47 Democrats in favor and two Republicans in opposition. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., predicted Thursday that the bill will not pass in the Senate.

Speaking after the vote, Titus said Republicans were using the tragic terrorist attacks in Paris for political gain rather than legitimately seeking to improve homeland security.

"Republicans are grandstanding as they attempt to attack the President," she said, in a telephone interview.

Titus said the GOP legislation offered no real improvements to the vetting process used to screen Syrian and Iraqi refugees seeking admission to the United States but would instead erect further roadblocks in a process that already averages 16 to 24 months by requiring three top government officials to personally approve every application.

"This is an attempt to stop the process by setting an impossible standard," she said.

The bill would require the FBI to conduct background checks on Iraqi and Syrian applicants and have the directors of the FBI, Homeland Security and National Intelligence certify that each refugee approved for entry is not a threat to national security.

Titus said she supported a Democratic alternative that would deny entry to any application that contains insufficient, conflicting or unreliable information. The Democratic plan would also reject applications if any of five federal agencies found information that indicated the person poses a national security or criminal threat.

"I represent Las Vegas. Nobody has greater concern about safety than I do," she said. "If Republicans want to fix the screening process then we should have Homeland Security do a review and see if it needs to be made tougher."

Hardy issued a statement in support of the bill saying additional security is needed in light of last weekend's terrorist attack in Paris.

"My heart breaks for the Syrian people, but we cannot let compassion expose us to the ill will of ill men," he said.

Hardy noted that ISIS has openly bragged about plans to use the refugee relocation process to enter Western nations. He also said intelligence reports show at least one of the attackers in Paris used a stolen Syrian passport to travel freely throughout the region. Those reports, however, have come under question.

"Today's vote will put extra precautions in place so that we can continue to accept Syrian refugees and feel more confident about our own children's safety in doing so. We should continue to look for ways to protect and support those affected by the fighting in Syria. But we cannot do that at the peril of our own national security," he said.

Senate Democrats, meanwhile, are pushing back against the House Republican bill, saying it would not improve the screening process but would divert action on more substantial threats. They argue that under a current "visa waiver" program, nationals from 38 countries can enter the U.S. without any screening. And, they could then purchase firearms here even if they appear on a terrorist watch list.

"We should crack down on this indefensible, dangerous and frankly ridiculous loophole that allows people on terrorist watch lists to purchase firearms," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., at a press conference in the U.S. Capitol.

Reid spoke on the Senate floor Thursday morning against the House GOP effort, where he invoked the Statue of Liberty which welcomes the huddled masses and wretched refuse of the world.

"In this fight against the evil ISIS, it is absolutely critical that we, as Americans, do not lose sight of our nation's core principles," he said.

Contact Peter Urban at purban@reviewjournal.com or at 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @PUrbanDC