SYRIAN REFUGEES; Congressional Record Vol. 161, No. 171

<!-- -->

SYRIAN REFUGEES

Mr. REID. Mr. President, we all know that the Federal Government has

many obligations, but chief among them is to protect the American

people from harm. That responsibility is now at the forefront of talk

here in our Nation's Capital, and rightfully so. ISIS continues to

spread its campaign of terror across the entire world.

The United States is committed to combating terrorism. Our government

will do all that is possible to protect the people of this Nation. In

this fight against evil ISIS, it is absolutely critical that we as

Americans do not lose sight of our Nation's core principles. Those

principles are eloquently etched into the base of the Statue of

Liberty.

I can remember taking my family there for the first time. I didn't

have all my children yet--we had more that had to be born--but my older

children still remember that. I remember it.

Here is what it says:

Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The retched refuse of your teaming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me.

That, of course, is directed to the United States. All across Europe

and the Middle East, there are huddled masses of Syrian families

desperate to find refuge someplace from Syria's civil war and the ISIS

reign of terror. Millions of Syrians fled their country. About 300,000

of them have been killed since the civil war started--300,000. They

fled to neighboring nations such as Turkey, Lebanon, and tiny little

Jordan.

But the crisis in Syria continues to worsen and people are forced to

seek refuge. What else can they do? On a daily basis, Europe's borders

are being flooded by people in search of safety and a better life--

mothers cradling infants and fathers carrying children in their arms.

The nations of Europe have helped. Greece, Germany, and others have

accommodated the enormous influx of people as safely as possible.

They are overwhelmed. The United States must do its part. We have a

rigorous screening process for when we accept these refugees. The

refugees we are accepting are women and children and old and older men

with families. Only 2 percent of the refugees are men of military age--

2 percent. We accepted a little under 2,000 last year. Two percent of

those were of military age.

The United States has a long and proud history of providing refuge to

the world's most vulnerable. That history includes my father-in-law,

Israel Goldfarb. He and his family came from Russia. They were refugees

escaping the programs of a czar. I have been disgusted in recent days

to see some of my Republican colleagues shun the American tradition of

displaying compassion for those in need, of sheltering those fleeing

torture, rape and oppression. Frankly, I have been disappointed by

Republican fear-mongering and bigotry.

Apparently they have learned nothing from history. We cannot repeat

the dark days of the 1930s when many Americans resolved to turn away

helpless refugees fleeing Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler or imprisoned

innocent Japanese Americans during World War II, like our late

colleague Dan Inouye and his family.

Those mistakes were based on misguided fears of people we did not

know. How many people died because of unfounded apprehension? I don't

know but far too many. Yet it seems many Republicans are destined to go

down that same path again. Some in the Republican Party have suggested

that we categorically block all Syrian refugees. One Republican

candidate for President suggested we turn away even 5-year-old refugee

children. Two other Republican candidates for President implied that

the United States of America should have some sort of religious test

for refugees. They are saying only Christians.

\\\[\\\[\[Page\](https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/volume-161/senate-section/page/S8115) \[S8115\](https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/volume-161/senate-section/page/S8115)\\\]\\\]

This is the latest in what has become a disturbing pattern of

Republican hatred and intolerance toward Muslims. Remember, Syria is

mostly Muslim, but there are Jews, there are Christians--lots of them.

During the course of the current Presidential cycle, we have heard from

the leading lights of the Republican Party the following: that we are

at war with Islam, that we should be shutting down Muslim houses of

worship in America, close the mosques, that we should ban Muslims from

government service. We have two of my friends who serve in the House of

Representatives who are Muslim. They are proud. That religion has made

them better people.

Now they are even suggesting that we should reject refugees fleeing

persecution on the grounds that they are Muslim. That is not America.

That is hate emanating from some Republicans. That anti-Muslim venom

from Republicans is a propaganda bonanza for ISIS. Christian groups

have responded to those Republican attacks. We have heard what the Pope

said: to kill in the name of religion is blasphemous.

World Relief, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Lutheran

Immigration and Refugee Service are all dismayed at the anti-refugee

fervor pushed forward by Republicans and are urging supporters to

contact elected officials on behalf of these victims of the Syrian

conflict.

We must pause and think about what they have been through--poison

gas, cluster bombs. Let's think about who these refugees are. They are

not our enemies. They are expelled from their homeland by the same evil

rulers we are fighting. All they want is to find safety, to restart

their lives. These people have been persecuted--that is an

understatement--by President Assad and ISIS. The Syrian regime, I

repeat, has barrel-bombed their own citizens, has unleashed chemical

weapons against their own citizens, rapes, justifying the rapes of

these hundreds and hundreds of women in the name of their religion--

murdering women and children. Those refugees hate Assad. They hate

ISIS. That is why they are trying to get out of that horrible situation

they find themselves.

The Department of Homeland Security has verified that not one of

1,800 refugees already admitted in the United States has a single

confirmed tie to terrorism--not one. To deny our moral obligation to

these struggling people would be to abandon the principles of this

great country. That is how France feels about it also. On the heels of

last week's appalling attacks, the President of France is refusing to

neglect France's duty to humanity. Here is what this good man said

yesterday:

30,000 refugees will be welcomed over the next two years.

Our country has the duty to respect this commitment.

After what they have been through, this is what the President of

France said: Accepting Syrian refugees is the moral thing to do and it

is sound policy. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice agrees that

the United States must open its arms to those fleeing persecution. Here

is what she said:

What the United States has done is to be open to people who

are fleeing tyranny, who are fleeing danger, but we have done

it in a very careful way.

Secretary Madeleine Albright authored an op-ed this week for Time

magazine. Now, remember, she herself was a refugee. That is how she

came to this country during World War II. She said Americans must

respond with compassion if we are going to defeat ISIS. We can do all

we want with refugees. This is no way to win the war, attacking the

refugees. Here is what she said, Madeleine Albright:

Our enemies have a plan. They want to divide the world

between Muslims and non-Muslims, and between the defenders

and attackers of Islam. By making Syrian refugees the enemy,

we are playing into their hands. Instead, we need to clarify

that the real choice is between those who think it is okay to

murder innocent people and those who think it is wrong. By

showing that we value every human life, we can make clear to

the world where we stand.

What Secretary Albright said and what Secretary Rice said is

absolutely right. We process Syrian refugees in a very careful way. It

has worked. We are not the nations of Europe. Has anyone stopped for a

minute and thought that we have an ocean between us and them, an ocean,

the Atlantic Ocean.

The U.S. refugee screening takes place well before any individual

comes to our borders. To enter the U.S. refugee program as an

applicant, the U.N. Refugee Agency must first select and refer all

potential refugees to our program. We accept refugees solely on a

referral basis from the United Nation's agency. We do not go out and

solicit any of these people. After being referred, all refugees,

including those from Syria, are subjected to extremely rigorous

screening and security checks. This is not some easy procedure where

refugees fly right through the application process and are sent here in

a matter of days. No. It takes an average of 18 to 24 months for a

refugee to make it through the process to come to the United States.

Remember, the vast majority of these people are checked and

rechecked, taking 24 months; they are women and children and old men. I

repeat. It takes 18 to 24 months for a refugee to make it through the

process of coming to the United States. That is why only 1,800 refugees

have been admitted since the start of the conflict out of the millions

who are fleeing Syria. Our government accepts only the most vulnerable

of the Syrians, survivors of violence and torture, those with severe

medical conditions, women and children, but security precautions are

not taking a backseat in the process. These Syrian refugees are real

people. Images of their plight should be so visually apparent in our

minds. Think of that little boy whom we saw and everyone saw around the

world, a picture of this little dead boy washed up on a beach, a

drowned Syrian boy whose body was washed up on this Turkish beach,

pictures on the front page of newspapers, all the TV programs for

several days.

At that time, Democrats and Republicans together responded with calls

for compassion and action. I urge Republicans to remember that little

boy. We must help where we can. That is who we are. We are America. We

come to the defense of the defenseless. We come to the aid of those in

need. Right now we are needed. We are a nation--a nation of freedom. We

should not forsake our duty and obligation to these struggling people.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.

The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for

the quorum call be rescinded.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

&nbsp;