Surge of Syrian refugees into US stirs security concerns

By: American Decency Staff

Syria's bloody civil war has brought the country's largest number of refugees and asylum-seekers to the United States in a decade, and thousands more are expected in 2016. 

But with the influx comes mounting concerns over whether the Obama administration can properly vet them, and keep out those with terror ties seeking to exploit the system. Lawmakers are worried that not only is Syria the headquarters of the Islamic State, but that the country's state of chaos makes screening refugees that much harder. 

"I agree that the vast majority of Syrian refugees do not have ties to terror groups," Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., who chairs the Homeland Security Counterterrorism and Intelligence Subcommittee, said at arecent hearing. "However, we have been reviewing the current security vetting procedures for a number of months, and I have a number of concerns, not the least of which is the lack of on-the-ground intelligence necessary to identify terror links." 

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