By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Wednesday, August 10 US Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama) warned that the Obama Administration’s refugee policies and its temporary amnesty for Syrians in the United States poses a danger to the people of the United States:
Senator Sessions said in a statement, “Despite a clear nexus between immigration and terrorism, and warnings from top officials in his own Administration about their inability to properly vet refugees, President Obama remains in denial ‎about the dangers that his policies pose to the United States. Instead of taking a sober assessment of the ‎dangers that we face, and analyzing the immigration histories of recent terrorists so that we can more effectively safeguard our immigration system from being infiltrated, the Obama Administration leads the United States down a dangerous path – admitting as many refugees as possible from areas of the world where terrorists roam freely, and granting a temporary amnesty to Syrians living in the United States illegally. And contrary to the assertions made by many, the potential for future terror activity is real.”
Sen. Sessions continued, “Our primary effort, and that of our allies, should be to provide support to those who are displaced as close to their homes as possible, and work to return them home as soon as possible. Of course, our foreign policy should always seek to avoid situations where such violence and chaos occur. But instead of pursuing these policies, the Obama Administration continues with its radical plans.”
Sen. Sessions warned, “The 10,000 Syrian refugees his Administration will admit this Fiscal Year represent a nearly 500 percent increase over the roughly 1,600 Syrian refugees who were admitted last year. This radical increase places the safety and security of the American people at risk, there will surely be consequences.”
Senator Sessions has been a staunch critic of the Obama Administration’s immigration policies and especially the lack of a thorough vetting process before admitting thousands of refugees from the war torn Middle East.
Sen. Sessions said, “Since September 11, 2001, we know that at least 40 individuals who were admitted to the United States as refugees have been convicted for, or implicated in, terrorism or terrorism-related offenses – and the total is likely much higher. Some were admitted as adults, others as children, but these cases refute the false assertion that those admitted to the United States as refugees never engage in terrorism. But because these facts do not fit within his worldview, President Obama rejects them. ‎And in so doing, he rejects his sacred oath for what he perceives as political gain.”
Sen. Sessions concluded, “Plainly, there is no way to properly vet these refugees. Our intelligence databases are only as good as the information that goes into them – meaning that the absence of derogatory information in our systems about an individual does not ‎mean that admitting that individual carries no risk. Nor do we have an effective method to screen refugees for the possibility of potential post-entry radicalization.” “Good public policy puts the safety and security of this country first. There is no doubt that this continuous, dramatic increase in refugees from areas of the world where terrorists roam freely will endanger this nation. We must change course.”
According to the US State Department the Obama Administration has admitted 61,232 refugees this fiscal year as of August. 8,114 are from Syria, 7,322 are from Iraq, 7,067 are from Somalia, 2,838 are from Iran, and 1,924 are from Afghanistan.
Sessions’ office said that the Obama Administration is on pace to achieve its goal of admitting 10,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the fiscal year. Sessions said that the Obama Administration will formally announce its plans for Fiscal Year 2017, to admit a total of 100,000 refugees into the country.
Sessions said that the Obama Administration announced last week that it plans to grant a temporary amnesty (under the guise of Temporary Protected Status) to thousands of Syrians already in the United States even if they entered illegally or overstayed their visas.
Sessions’ office included a list of 20 individuals who were “fully” vetted by the federal government – 19 refugees and one Iraqi Special Immigration Visa (SIV) recipient – who have been implicated in, or convicted or sentenced for, terrorism or terrorism-related offenses in recent years.
Senator Sessions was the first US Senator to endorse New York City businessman and reality TV star Donald Trump for President of the United States. Sessions and his staff helped Trump write his border security plan and a key Sessions staffer was hired as a senior policy advisor by the Trump campaign.
Sessions has taken an active and forceful role in defending the nominee.
According to original reporting by USA Today’s Mary Troyan Sessions has endorsed Trump’s policy of deescalating tension with Russia saying recently, “I think an argument can be made there is no reason for the US and Russia to be at this loggerheads,” Sessions said. “Somehow, someway, we ought to be able to break that logjam.”
Senator Jefferson “Jeff” Beauregard Sessions III is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Immigration and The National Interest. The popular Senator Sessions was re-elected to his fourth term in the US Senate with no Republican or Democratic opponent in 2015.
