A leading senator has called on the Obama administration to immediately suspend an effort to bring some 10,000 Syrian refugees into the United States amid new reports that ISIS terrorists have successfully infiltrated groups of migrants in the West, according to comments provided to the Washington Free Beacon.
Sen. Mark Kirk (R., Ill.) told the Free Beacon on Thursday that the Obama administration does not have the capacity to properly vet Syrian refugees for terror ties before they enter America.
In light of recent reports that three Syrians tied to ISIS has been arrested in Germany on terror charges, Kirk called on the White House to end its effort to facilitate the mass resettlement of Syrians in the United States.
"Reports that ISIS terrorists again infiltrated Syrian migrant flows into the West highlights the dangers posed by the White House’s decision to slash security screening times from 18 months to three months in order to rush the approval of 10,000 Syrian refugees into the United States by September 2016," Kirk said. "The administration should suspend efforts to rush in Syrian refugees and instead work with Congress to prevent all terrorist infiltration of Syrian refugee flows."
Kirk and other congressional leaders have expressed concern about the administration’s effort to expedite the screening process for these refugees. He and other lawmakers recently filed legislation to strengthen the vetting process.
While law enforcement officials have said that it could take more than a year to properly vet these refugees, the Obama administration has asked that the screening time be cut to around three months.
U.S. officials told the Free Beacon in May that the administration will move forward with a plan this year to resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees and 85,000 refugees overall.
Terrorists, including those affiliated with ISIS, have successfully exploited the U.S. European refugee programs in the past. This includes several individuals who went on to plan and commit terror attacks