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Conservative Leaders: Syrian Immigration is a Grave National Security Threat
November 30, 2015
Washington, DC
The burden to keep our immigration system both safe and generous falls on Congress.
America’s immigration system is the most generous in the world. Accordingly, the law allows for those who have a “well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion” to enter the U.S. as a refugee. This definition is importantly limited in scope and applies to individuals on a case-by- case basis. It may not apply to everyone fleeing one country equally.
The State Department, according to its legal authority granted by Congress, announced that 10,000 of the 85,000 refugee slots for 2016 will be reserved for Syrians. Given the current climate around the globe, a refugee population so large, fleeing a war torn region, with ample evidence that a group of Syrian refugees is much more likely to contain Islamic Extremists bent on violence in America creating a completely unsecure, dangerous, and untenable situation for the American people.
During his testimony before the House Committee on Homeland Security last week, FBI Director James Comey clearly indicated that the FBI does not have the ability to conduct thorough background checks on 10,000 Syrian refugees. At the moment, we are convinced there is no possible way to verify the identity and credibility of Syrian refugees, and recognize that to be a grave national security threat. Of the challenge in verifying the identity of a Syrian refugee, he said, ““And so if someone has never made a ripple in the pond in Syria in a way that would get their identity or their interest reflected in our database, we can query our database until the cows come home, but there will be nothing show up because we have no record of them.”
Until there is assurance that all potential terrorists are screened out, Syrian refugees cannot be allowed to immigrate to the United States. If the administration is determined to grant refugee status to 10,000 (or more) Syrian refuges, it is incumbent upon Congress to intervene. According to Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, the Congress has sole discretion over immigration law and federal spending. On December 11th, funding for all government programs will expire. In the interest of national security, Congress must prohibit funding for the State Department to allow any Syrian immigrant to gain refugee status.
There are compassionate approaches that do not entail the security risks associated with allowing vast numbers of un-vetted, displaced people into the United States. For example, humanitarian support could be provided directly to displaced people currently in refugee camps in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and elsewhere. We could also assist the government of Kurdistan in its efforts to care for those displaced by shifting already allotted financial and/or other resources for the current camps, and also ensure more are built if needed.
Congress should then work with the intelligence agencies to develop a vetting process that assures the nation our refugee laws do not make us less safe. We must be able to verify that any individual seeking any immigration status does not pose a threat to this nation. Congress should pause any new Syrian refugees, and allow a deliberative process for lawmakers to ensure any proposed vetting process is secure, transparent, and respects the role of state governments.
Hon. Edwin Meese III
Former Attorney General
President Ronald Reagan
Hon. J. Kenneth Blackwell
Former U.S. Ambassador
UN Human Rights Commission
Hon. Colin A. Hanna
President
Let Freedom Ring, Inc.
William L. Walton
Vice President
Council for National Policy
Rod D. Martin
Founder and CEO
The Martin Organization
Sherri R. Martin
The Martin Foundation
Gary L. Bauer
President
American Values
Nicholas Stehle
Campaign for the American Future
Michael A. Needham
Chief Executive Officer
Heritage Action for America
Hon. Tony Perkins
President
Family Research Council
Erick-Woods Erickson
Editor-in-Chief, RedState
Host of The Erick Erickson Show
Alfred S. Regnery
Chairman
Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund
David Bozell
President, ForAmerica
Herman Cain
CEO and President
www.hermancain.com
Hon. Sharron Angle
President
National Federation of Republican Assemblies
Willes K. Lee
Executive Vice President
National Federation of Republican Assemblies
Tim LeFever
Chairman
Capitol Resource Institute
Jason Jones
President
Movie to Movement
Lee A. Beaman
Chief Executive Officer
Beaman Automotive
The Honorable Becky Norton Dunlop
Chairman, Conservative Action Project (CAP)
Former White House Advisor, President Ronald Reagan
Ed Corrigan
Former Executive Director
Senate Steering Committee
Herman Pirchner, Jr.
President
American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC)
Hon. Bob McEwen
Executive Director, Council for National Policy
U.S. House of Representatives Former Member, Ohio
L. Brent Bozell, III
Chairman
Media Research Center
Diana L. Banister
Shirley & Banister Public Affairs
Hon. James C. Miller III
Former OMB Director President Ronald Reagan
Bob Adams
President
Revive America PAC
Seton Motley
President
Less Government
Neil Patel
Co-founder and Publisher
The Daily Caller
C. Preston Noell III
President
Tradition, Family, Property
Kevin Freeman
Founder, NSIC Institute
Andrea S. Lafferty
President
Traditional Values Coalition
Morton C. Blackwell
Chairman
The Weyrich Lunch
Hon. Jerry Melvin
President
Florida Republican Assembly
Ron Robinson
President
Young America’s Foundation
Robert D. Thompson
Administrator
The Weyrich Lunch
Gary A. Marx
Senior Partner
Madison Strategies
Ron Pearson
Executive Director
Conservative Victory Fund
Dee Hodges
President
Maryland Taxpayers Association
Richard Manning
President
Americans for Limited Government
Michael R. Long
State Chairman
New York State Conservative Party
Kevin Kookogey
President and Founder
The Advancing Church
Bradley Mattes
President
Life Issues Institute
Tricia Erickson
President, Angel Pictures & Publicity
Publisher: www.TheConservativePundit.net
Susan W. Gore
President
Wyoming Liberty Group
Russell J. Ramsland, Jr.
Candidate for U.S. House District 32 – Texas
Hon. Somers H. White
Former Arizona State Senator
Dan Weber
President
Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC)
Mike Spence
President
Conservative Republicans of California
Ambassador Henry F. Cooper
Former SDI Director
Former Chief Defense and Space Negotiator
Jim Simpson
Author: The Red Green Axis: Refugees, Immigration and the Agenda to Erase America
Judson Phillips
Founder, Tea Party Nation
TPN Networks & TeaPartyNation.com
Tim Wildmon
President
American Family Association
Mat Staver, Esq.
Charles J. Cooper
Cooper & Kirk, PLLC
Hon. Mike Hill
Florida State Representative District 2
Peter Hoekstra
Shillman Senior Fellow
Investigative Project on Terrorism
Former Chairman, House Intelligence Committee
Andresen Blom
Executive Director
Grassroot Hawaii Action
Elaine Donnelly
President
Center for Military Readiness
Allen Roth
President
Secure America Now
Col. Francis X. De Luca USMCR(Ret)
President Civitas Institute
Thomas P. Kilgannon
President
Freedom Alliance
Robert K. Fischer
Meeting Coordinator for Conservatives of Faith
Melissa Ortiz
Founder & Principal
Able Americans
Jim Backlin
Christian Coalition of America
Donna Hearne
Chief Executive Officer
The Constitutional Coalition
All organizations listed for identification purposes only.
The Conservative Action Project, founded by former Attorney General Edwin Meese and chaired by The Honorable Becky Norton Dunlop, is designed to facilitate conservative leaders working together on behalf of common goals. Participants include the CEO’s of over 100 organizations representing all major elements of the conservative movement: economic, social and national security.
Rod is one of our nation’s leading minds. He’s smart, original, and very committed—a combination that one rarely finds.
Rod Martin and [former Howard Dean campaign manager] Joe Trippi are America’s two foremost experts on online politics.
Rod Martin is a Reaganite-Thatcherite conservative…[and] a man who has spent much of his life ministering to and working for the benefit of others. I know Rod as an advocate for freedom, a leader who understands the real changes we need in Washington, and who has the drive and ability to make those changes happen.
Rod Martin is the kind of dynamic leader who has the knowledge, ability and experience to lead us successfully into the 21st Century. His vision for America is compelling.
Rod Martin literally wrote the book on excellence. Humble yet brilliant, a man of love and compassion, with penetrating clarity he illuminates the world around us, and we are both stirred and enlightened.
Rod Martin is a born leader and an outstanding political mind. Anyone who takes him on is going to have a serious fight on their hands.
Rod Martin is a man of uncommon vision and character. Ever since I first worked alongside Rod in the early days of PayPal, I’ve been struck by his powerful vision for the future. Rod understands the intersection of technology, politics and culture in a way that few others do.
Rod Martin wears with uncommon grace an uncanny ability to link his vigorous faith to the practical challenges of both the business world and the political arena. Yet the respect he shows for others carries a warmth and modesty that are both too rare among those who are strong advocates of feisty positions.
America badly needs more leaders who really get the future. We need more Rod Martins.
Rod Martin is a modern day philosopher-statesman. He is a capitalist intellectual, a conservative iconoclast, a gentle adversary and a kind prophet. He inspires us towards a fresh national vision built upon the original founding principles.
Rod Martin is not only effective and efficient, but he is also perceptive, wise and gracious. He gets things done. He is a great friend and a great ally.
Rod is one of the sharpest, most gracious men I know, and one of the most gifted political thinkers today. His ability to analyze issues and communicate thoughtful insights on them have earned him the respect of people across the political spectrum.
I am proud to have been Rod Martin’s friend for a quarter century, and I can tell you that he is one of the finest men and most outstanding leaders in our church and in our country today. He has a knack for turning everything he touches to success.
Rod Martin is a cornucopian entrepreneur and eutropic thinker whose influence radiates through an array of companies, institutions, movements and churches. A renaissance American, he is also a prolific friend of freedom and faith around the globe.
If Rod Martin represents the next generation of leaders, America has nothing to worry about.
A leader and a servant, in public life and in private, Rod Martin strides at the top of his profession, and has nowhere to go but up. He is in the truest sense of the word ‘outstanding’.
Rod Martin is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished thought leaders today. He is a wonderful mentor, a humble role model, and a deep inspiration for the next generation of scientific innovators and entrepreneurs.
Rod’s achievements pale beside his character and his brilliance. He sees what others can’t. He leads when others won’t.
Rod Martin is one of America’s finest young minds.
