House Passes Bill Requiring FBI Director Personally Sign Off on Each Syrian Refugee
The House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday that would require the director of the FBI, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and the director of national intelligence to personally sign off on each Syrian refugee entering the United States.
Currently, refugees are reportedly subject to background checks by the national counterterrorism center, the FBI and the Department of Defense. President Obama’s press secretary tells the Times refugees submit “biographic and biometric” information as part of the screening process, which can take up to two years.
It is “the most rigorous vetting process that we have for anybody who is admitted,” Obama said Thursday.
Still, support for fearing the people fleeing the terrorists is growing and the bill passed the House easily. The final count, 289 to 137, comprises a veto-proof margin supported by at least 50 Democrats.
The Senate is reportedly expected to vote sometime “after Thanksgiving.”
The White House, which has promised to veto the bill, has called its demands “untenable.” Other leaders disagree.
