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Rep. McCaul, Gov. Abbott, Lt. Gov Patrick Lead TX Congressional Delegation Letter to President on Syrian Refugees

June 24, 2016

Rep. McCaul, Gov. Abbott, Lt. Gov Patrick Lead TX Congressional Delegation Letter to President on Syrian Refugees

WASHINGTON, DC–Today Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX) was joined by Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX), Lt. Governor Dan Patrick (R-TX) and the entire Republican Congressional Texas delegation, in sending a letter to President Obama regarding the Syrian Refugee crisis.

The letter calls into question the handling of the Syrian refugee crisis by the administration given the stated intention by ISIS to infiltrate the program and exploit it in order to carry out attacks on the west. In an excerpt, the letter states “we believe your Administration has manifestly failed to reassure and adequately engage State and local governments on these resettlements” and insists “that you work with the State of Texas to reform your Administration’s refugee resettlement policies and procedures immediately.”

“ISIS has threatened to infiltrate Syrian refugee flows to attack the West—and has already done so. Yet the Obama administration has not taken the threat seriously enough and has failed to take the steps needed to keep terrorists out of America,” said McCaul. "Just this month German authorities disrupted an ISIS plot orchestrated by operatives who arrived pretending to be Syrian refugees. The threat is real,” he continued. “In the wake of the ISIS-inspired attack in Orlando, the deadliest on American soil since 9/11, we must be vigilant about shutting down all pathways terrorists could use to get into our country or radicalize our people. That is why communities must be more involved in making sure the refugee program is secure, and the State of Texas must have a say in keeping potentially dangerous individuals from infiltrating it. We are a compassionate nation, but we cannot allow our enemies to take advantage of our humanitarian efforts to do our own people harm.”

The full letter can be viewed here. In November 2015, Congressman McCaul’s SAFE Act passed the House. The SAFE Act would require comprehensive background checks of every refugee from Iraq or Syria and certification that each does not pose a threat before they can be admitted into the United States