Zinke Slams Obama for Bait and Switch Refugee Resettlement Plan

Press Release

Today, Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke slammed the Obama Administration for their bait and switch tactics used to defend their unsecure refugee processing program. Reports from multiple news agencies, including the Associated Press, outlined a "surge operation" to expedite refugee processing to only three months, rather than the 18-24 month process the White House and Senate Democrats continually recited to the American people and news media. Furthermore, an administration official working in the U.S. Embassy in Jordan revealed the reports of the U.S. accepting 10,000 refugees was a "floor and not a ceiling."

"President Obama has once again misled the American people and Members of Congress in order to get his way. Obama and his Democrat allies in Congress have proven they will use bait and switch tactics to move more unvetted refugees into our communities. This will inevitably put our nation and our citizens at risk for future terrorist attacks," said Zinke. "When it was discovered that ISIS had infiltrated the refugee population -- after they promised they would -- and attacked Paris, the House passed with a veto-proof majority my bill, the American SAFE Act, which is a prudent bill to pause and strengthen the refugee screening process. Senate Democrats blocked this bill from even being debated.

"We have seen dozens of innocent civilians murdered at the hands of terrorists posing as refugees. While the majority of individuals need assistance, it only takes a few to create mass casualties. That is exactly why I believe the U.S. should focus humanitarian efforts in the region where folks are closer to home, and why the U.S. needs a real strategy to finally defeat and destroy ISIS. It is unfathomable to most Americans how any sort of expedited screening benefits our national security. President Obama must immediately stop his surge operation and properly screen these individuals before we experience a Paris or Brussels-style attack."

Earlier this month, the Missoulian called for a "more secure" screening process writing, "Therefore this process -- along with other immigration programs -- must be closely scrutinized for any gaps that could allow a terrorist to slip through. It is clear already that there is room for improvement."

According to CNN, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said the current migration is a "disaster of biblical proportions" that poses an opportunity for terrorist groups such as ISIS to "infiltrate operatives among these refugees."

In October, FBI Director James Comey testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing that they "do see a risk" in the current vetting process for Syrian refugees entering the United States. During House Homeland Security Committee the FBI also admitted that they could not properly vet these individuals. FBI Assistant Director Michael Steinbach, who heads the bureau's counterterrorism division said, "You have to have information to vet. Databases don't [have] the information on those individuals, and that's the concern."

When facing security concerns in 2011, the refugee program was put on pause by the State Department after "dozens" of Iraqi bomb makers were allowed to immigrate to the U.S. as refugees. Earlier this year, two refugees were arrested for terrorist ties in Texas and California.

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