Senator Steve Daines called on President Obama today, asking him to not accept Syrian refugees.

"Until we have the capability to complete comprehensive and exhaustive background checks on Syrian refugees before they reach our shores, the United States should immediately stop taking in new refugees from the region," Daines said. "We are at war with Islamic extremists and anything less than 100 percent verification of these refugees' backgrounds puts our national security at risk."

However, Daines reiterated that he has strong sympathy for those caught in the Syrian conflict.

"But the President's current plan to take in 10,000 Syrian refugees only serves to open up our homeland to increased security risks, while doing nothing to solve the root cause of the crisis, which is the civil war in Syria," Daines said. "We should instead be focusing our resources on helping refugees in Syria's neighboring countries like Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan, so that refugees in need don't have to risk their lives fleeing to Europe."

Daines's office reports that in October, FBI Director James Corney testified before a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing that they "do see a risk" in the current vetting process for Syrian refugees entering the U.S.

 

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