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Katie Zerr: Refugee claims are not based in fact


As we once again mourn the loss of innocent souls at the hands of cowardly acts of terrorism, some leaders in our country are calling for the halt of plans to bring Syrian refugees into this country.
Prominent politicians are calling for the U.S. to stop taking in refugees from Syria, arguing that authorities might unwittingly allow terrorists to enter the country. Some have pointed out the a majority of these refugees are young men of military age that are just waiting for their chance to get into the U.S, and join jihadists cells already in this country.
Governors from more than half of the states in the U.S. say they will stop any refugees from war-torn Syria from settling in their states.
These knee-jerk reactions are not well thought out but do make great headlines as they look as though they are protecting their residents from the evil that lurks in the Middle Eastern people.
Many Americans are calling for the rejection of all Syrian refugees because of what they are hearing and seeing on news programs and on the Internet.
The problem with that is if a person chooses to only read or listen to a certain type of news or search a certain type of website, inaccurate information is easily found.
The following are the facts about the make up of the Syrian refugees looking for a place to find peace and safety. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which refers refugees for resettlement in other countries, there are more than 4 million registered Syrian refugees.
UNHCR’s data show that 50.5 percent of refugees are women. Females age 18 to 59 make up 23.9 percent of the refugees, while males in that age group make up 21.8 percent.
Even younger males, age 12 to 17, represent 6.5 percent of refugees, while females that age are 6.1 percent. The majority of refugees, 51.1 percent, are under age 17, including 38.5 percent who are younger than 12 years old. These numbers were as of Sept. 6.
This is factual information, released by a reputable agency, not a hate-mongering website. It is information that is registered and not manufactured by doctoring video to show large groups of military-age Syrians crossing into Europe.
If an aspiring terrorist were to try to come into this country as a refugee, there are several hurdles he or she would have to clear. In fact, it was recently stated by an official at Homeland Security that a terrorist has a better chance of entering this country on an airplane with a visa, than through the refugee process.
Applying to enter the United States as a refugee often takes at least 18 months. Applicants must pass background checks involving several U.S. government agencies, and many applicants are rejected. Overall, refugees are unlikely to be resettled at all. The U.N. Refugee Agency says that only about 1 percent of the world’s refugees end up being taken in permanently elsewhere.
Stephen Legomsky, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis and former chief counsel for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, recently said that all these factors make it very unlikely that members of the Islamic State group planning to attack the U.S. would apply as refugees.
“[Refugees] are personally interviewed and thorough background checks are performed by Homeland Security and the FBI,” Legomsky said. “No competent terrorist would choose the U.S. refugee process as a preferred strategy for gaining entry into the U.S.”
But those calling to halt the acceptance of 10,000 Syrian refugees next year point to the Boston Marathon bombers, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, as evidence that refugees are terrorists. The brothers were not, however, refugees. They were children of parents who sought asylum in the United States, not refugees, according to the State Department.
The most notorious terrorists in our history flew to the United States on planes and entered this country legally, mostly on tourist or business visas, which don’t require the same scrutiny as refugee status to acquire. These 19 terrorists hijacked airplanes and killed more than 3,000 people Sept. 11, 2001.
The fact that one of the Paris attackers was found holding a Syrian passport that had been stamped at a Greek port of entry has been a spark in this movement. But French authorities said Monday that the passport was forged, making it unclear whether the man, identified as Ahmad al-Mohammad, posed as a migrant to enter Europe or carried the faked passport to confuse authorities.
There are 70,000 refugees that come to the United States annually. Take that number and weigh it against the millions of visitors to this country who enter legally on visas.
Do we need to be overly cautious with refugees? Absolutely. But to stand up and proclaim that Muslim refugees are not welcome in this country is just what the cowards wrapped in the ISIS flag want the U.S. to do.
This shows the Muslim people that we are filled with hate and mistrust for them. It shows ISIS that they are succeeding in injecting fear and hate into our nation, which is one of its priorities.
We need to look at how this rejection of those in need makes us look in the eyes of those who have always depending on the U.S. to be the a nation of compassion.
We need to be factual in our information before making harmful and hateful statements.
– Katie Zerr –

 

 

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