Refugee processing slowdown blamed on FBI’s new
vetting procedures, by Ann Corcoran 8/27/18.
If
you didn’t see my first post this morning go here.
Then
FBI Director Comey told the Senate last year that 300 refugees (about 200 of
them Iraqis) were being investigated for possible connections to terrorists.
This
is number two in a three part series today on how the Trump Administration has
been beefing
up vetting and thus slowing the flow of refugees in to the US.
From Reuters (remember I told you yesterday that the Pentagon is the new ally of the
Open Borders Left):
Exclusive: Pentagon raises alarm about sharp drop in Iraqi
refugees coming to U.S.
After
a lead-in about Pentagon concerns, we learn this:
As
of Aug. 15, just 48 Iraqis have been admitted to the United States this fiscal
year through a special refugee program meant for people who worked for the U.S.
government or American contractors, news media or non-governmental groups,
according to data provided by the State Department. More than 3,000 came last
year and about 5,100 in 2016. [They are referring to Special
Immigrant Visas and note that
someone can get in as a refugee if they worked with NGOs, with no connection to
the military!—ed]
At
the meeting last week, officials examined the multiple security checks that
Iraqis must pass, including one background check that all refugees undergo,
called the Interagency Check.
They determined the obstacle was a separate process
called Security Advisory Opinions (SAOs), which are required for a smaller
subset of people – male and female refugees within a certain age range from
Iraq and 10 other countries, mostly in the Middle East and Africa.
The FBI and intelligence agencies conduct the SAOs while the State Department coordinates the process.
Some of Obama’s Iraqi Special Immigrant
Visa holders. See brutal rape story from Colorado:
At the meeting, the FBI revealed that of a batch of 88 Iraqis it had
recently completed SAOs for, it found suspicious information on 87 of them, said the two officials aware of the
meeting. Current and former officials said that is a much higher “hit rate”
than in past years.
It
was unclear to officials what exactly is causing the higher hit rate, and the
meeting did not get into the details of the FBI’s screening methodology and how
it might have changed.
Not
just Iraqis! Last year, the Trump
administration instituted more stringent screening for refugees, including a
requirement that they submit phone numbers and email addresses for many more family
members than before. That information is now assessed in the SAOs for those
refugees who require them.
The countries whose refugees automatically require SAOs before they can
be admitted, in addition to Iraq, are Egypt, Iran, Libya, Mali, North Korea,
Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Of course, shamefully missing are
Afghanistan and Burma (Rohingya!). More here.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody
GA Tea Party Leader
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