Jesus Fucking Christ–hundreds of posts in and you still haven’t addressed the fact that you jumped onto this decrepit bandwagon in the first palce because you don’t know shit about the U.S. refugee resettlement process. There’s no point in engaging in these endless moral quibbles when your whole starting premise is baseless.
Can you name even one instance in the near decade of resettlement from that area of a terrorist (not an asylum seeker) using the refugee process to get into the country? (Of course ISIS says that’s what they want to do–ISIS will say anything.)
This is what I posted in another thread, but it bears repeating here:
"Part of what I do is refugee resettlement–in the U.S. (And yes, I’ve worked with Syrians.) This bullshit about Syrian refugees being some kind of threat is one of the stupidest turns in public discourse this country has seen in a long time, and I’m including the whole ‘freedom fries’ thing. It’s embarrassing. It’s fucking idiotic. Forget about the moral questions (which are self-evident). Let’s just start with the basic proposition, which IS PURE IGNORANCE—or, if not that, scummy and disingenuous.
In addition to the craven, pandering, shameless political figures (Trump, Cruz, Christie, various governors, etc.), who are so transparently and desperately just attention whoring themselves, we have even here on this board some posters flaunting their ignorance (or their scummy disingenuousness) as they buy into the whole idiocy. You know who you are. Let me just ask you one question: What ISIS member is going to get through this process, even if one should be stupid enough to voluntarily submit to it?"
And here is the U.S. refugee resettlement process again, for the sake of this thread:
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STEP 1
Gaining refugee Status: In most cases the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) determines that an individual qualifies as a refugee under international law. A refugee is someone who has fled from his or her home country and cannot return because he or she has a well-founded fear of persecution based on religion, race, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.
STEP 2
Referral to the United States: A refugee that meets one of the criteria for resettlement in the United States is referred to the U.S. government by UNHCR, a U.S. Embassy, or a trained Non-Governmental Organization.
STEP 3
Resettlement Support Center: A Resettlement Support Center (RSC), contracted by the U.S. Department of State, compiles the refugee’s personal data and background information for the security clearance process and to present to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for an in-person interview.
STEP 4
Security Clearance Process: With information collected by the RSC, a number of security checks are conducted. The State Department runs the names of all refugees referred to the United States for resettlement through a standard CLASS (Consular Lookout and Support System) name check. In addition, enhanced interagency security checks were phased in beginning in 2008 and applied to all refugee applicants by 2010.
STEP 5
Security Clearance Process: Certain refugees (SUCH AS SYRIANS and IRAQIS) undergo an additional security review called a Security Advisory Opinion (SAO). These cases require a positive SAO clearance from a number of U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies (FBI, NSA, CIA, and I think military intelligence, too) in order to continue the resettlement process. When required, this step runs concurrently with Step 4.
STEP 6
Security Clearance Process: Refugees who meet the minimum age requirement have their fingerprints and photograph taken by a trained U.S. government employee, usually on the same day as their DHS interview. The fingerprints are then checked against various U.S. government databases and information on any matches is reviewed by DHS.
STEP 7
In-person Interview: All refugee applicants are interviewed by an officer from DHS’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). A trained officer will travel to the country of asylum to conduct a detailed, face-to- face interview with each refugee applicant being considered for resettlement. (Under limited circumstances, refugee applicants may be interviewed in their home country rather than in a country of asylum.) Based on the information in the refugee’s case file and on the interview, the DHS officer will determine if the individual qualifies as a refugee and is admissible under U.S. law.
STEP 8
DHS Approval: If the USCIS officer finds that the individual qualifies as a refugee and meets other U.S. admission criteria, the officer will conditionally approve the refugee’s application for resettlement and submit it to the U.S. Department of State for final processing. Conditional approvals become final once the results of all security checks (Steps 4, 5, and 6) have been received and cleared.
STEP 9
Medical Screening: All refugee applicants approved for resettlement in the U.S. are required to undergo medical screening conducted by the International Organization for Migration or a physician designated by the U.S. Embassy.
STEP 10
Matching Refugees with a Sponsor Agency: Every refugee is assigned to a Voluntary Agency in the U.S., such as the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI). USCRI will place refugees with a local partner agency (“volags,” which are the agencies I contract with), or other office that will assist refugees upon their arrival in the U.S.
STEP 11 (my area of work)
Cultural Orientation: In addition, refugees approved for resettlement are offered the services of acculturation programs while waiting for final processing and after arrival, to prepare them for their journey to and initial resettlement in the United States.
STEP 12
Security Clearance Process: Prior to departure to the U.S., a second interagency check is conducted for most refugees to check for any new information. Refugees must clear this check in order to depart to the U.S.
STEP 13
Admission to the United States: Upon arrival at one of five U.S. airports designated as ports of entry for refugee admissions, a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer will review the refugee documentation and conduct additional security checks to ensure that the arriving refugee is the same person who was screened and approved for admission to the United States.
Enough of these tit-for-tat moral arguments. The big risk you are proposing is a fabrication in the first place.