U.S. lawmakers call for tighter scrutiny of Syrian refugees

PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. lawmakers called on Tuesday, November 17 for even tighter scrutiny of Syrian refugees fleeing to the United States as last week's deadly Paris attacks recast America's debate over immigration and national security, prompting a sharp rebuke from President Barack Obama, who said attempts to block entry were "offensive and contrary to American values", Reuters reports.

Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives, worried about Islamist attacks following Friday's killings of 129 people in France, threatened to suspend the Obama administration's efforts to allow 10,000 more Syrian refugees into the country.

Democrats also called for close vetting of refugees from the four-year-old civil war in Syria in case they are linked to extremist groups such as Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for the Paris killings.

The attacks focused the spotlight in Washington on national security with the November 2016 presidential election campaign heating up and Obama in the final year of his presidency.

"This is a moment where it is better to be safe than sorry," the Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan told reporters.

Separately, two influential senators, Republican Jeff Flake and Democrat Tim Kaine, responded to the Paris attacks by renewing their push for Congress to vote on a formal authorization for the use of military force for the campaign against Islamic State.

But most of the emphasis in the Republican-controlled Congress has been on the backlash against Syrian refugees.

Ryan called for a pause in Obama's program, announced in September, to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees in a year. The number of Syrians destined for the United States is low compared with figures in European countries such as Germany.

The issue has challenged America's image of itself as a nation that welcomes downtrodden newcomers, with some lawmakers suggesting all Syrians should be barred, or that Christian Syrians should be favored over Muslims.

Obama, speaking on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Manila early on Wednesday, accused politicians at home of trying to score political points.

Obama said refugees are screened for 18 to 24 months before being cleared to enter the United States, with the intelligence community fully vetting applicants.

Republican Senator John McCain backed scrupulous vetting but also strongly opposed discrimination.

Republicans and Democrats have both voiced fears that housing refugees from a conflict zone in the Middle East could leave the country open to attacks like those staged by al Qaeda on Sept. 11, 2001.