In the wake of terrorist attacks in Paris, U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) led a group of 12 senators Monday in calling on President Barack Obama to suspend immigration for Syrian refugees.
In a letter to the president, the senators suggested that the humanitarian gesture of accepting Syrian refugees was overshadowed by the security threat they may pose.
"As we mourn the loss of life and provide France all the support and assistance it needs, the U.S. government must redouble its efforts to keep the American people safe," the senators said. "We believe that an essential component of that effort is ensuring that no refugee related to the Syrian crisis is admitted to the United States unless the U.S. government can guarantee, with 100 percent assurance, that they are not members, supporters, or sympathizers of the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), also known as Daesh or ISIL."
The concern was sparked mostly by a Syrian passport investigators reportedly found near the body of one of the suicide bombers associated with attacks in Paris that killed 129 people Friday night. Ever since, countries around the world and dozens of U.S. states that had previously supported offering a safe haven for tens of thousands of refugees have suspended or called for suspending their offers.
Kirk also cited a statement made in September by Director of National Intelligence James Clapper regarding the intelligence community's “huge concern” about terrorist groups sneaking into the United States as refugees.
The United States has admitted 1,854 Syrian refugees into the country since 2012.
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