{"id":11038,"date":"2015-11-25T14:32:02","date_gmt":"2015-11-25T19:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/live-immigrationreform.pantheonsite.io\/?p=11038"},"modified":"2018-12-28T13:54:59","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T18:54:59","slug":"speaker-ryans-claims-about-house-refugee-bill-gets-3-turkeys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2015\/11\/25\/speaker-ryans-claims-about-house-refugee-bill-gets-3-turkeys\/","title":{"rendered":"Speaker Ryan\u2019s Claims About House Refugee Bill Gets 3 Turkeys"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Paul_Ryan_VP_announcement\"<\/a> \"turkey-48220_640\"<\/a>House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) apparently thinks the American people are turkeys. In a Monday op-ed<\/a> published on CNN\u2019s website, Ryan beat the drumstick: \u201cthe House of Representatives passed a bill last week that would pause<\/b> the Syrian refugee program until we can be certain no one coming here is a threat to our country.\u201d (emphasis added) Basting on a little more praise he continued, \u201cWe think the prudent, responsible thing is to take a pause<\/b> on this particular aspect of this refugee program until we have a more reliable process.\u201d (emphasis added)<\/p>\n

Of course, the bill Ryan is referencing is Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul\u2019s H.R. 4038<\/a>, the American Security Against Foreign Enemies (SAFE) Act.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t mean to squash the Speaker\u2019s (pumpkin) pie in the sky view of the American SAFE Act but he is misrepresenting the bill. If you feast your eyes on FAIR\u2019s bill summary<\/a>, you will see that nothing in H.R. 4038 requires the Obama administration to pause<\/i><\/b> the admission of Syrian refugees. Instead, this bill merely requires the FBI Director to conduct a \u201cthorough background investigation\u201d and certify that the Syrian refugee is not \u201ca threat to the security of the United States.\u201d This bill is flawed because it operates under the false premise that the U.S. can properly vet people from the Middle East despite FBI Director James Comey testifying<\/a> that it is not possible.<\/p>\n

In short, all this bill does is require three Obama administration officials to certify that, to the best of their knowledge, Syrian refugees do not pose a national security threat. Simply put, this bill needed more stuffing. Unfortunately, Speaker Ryan decided on a wishbone approach to handling Syrian refugees rather than the commonsense<\/a> alternative that would have actually paused<\/b> the refugee program for six months.<\/p>\n

Curiously, other parts of Ryan\u2019s op-ed seem to acknowledge the inherent flaws in H.R. 4038. Contradictorily, he says \u201cwe simply don\u2019t have a sufficient process for figuring out who each person is and verifying his or her background\u2026. We just don\u2019t have all that much information to check about Syrian refugees. Many high-ranking administration officials have said as much.\u201d Combined, the Speaker\u2019s op-ed is more confusing than a fruit-based pie being called mincemeat.<\/p>\n

The Speaker\u2019s defense of H.R. 4038<\/a> drowns in a gravy boat of logic and therefore, receives three turkeys.