* From US Sen. Mark Kirk…
Keeping Americans Safe from ISIS
Dear Friend,
This week, I urged President Obama to ensure no refugee related to the Syrian crisis is admitted to our country unless the U.S. government can guarantee, with 100 percent assurance, that they are not affiliated with ISIS.
Um, the government can’t guarantee anything with 100 percent certainty. No human entity can do that. Ever. Human beings are not perfect. Sen. Kirk ought to know that.
I asked Kirk’s office for an explanation. Here it is…
“Currently, the FBI, the Director of National Intelligence and the Director of the National Counter Terrorism Center all have grave concerns about our national ability to filter and vet Syrian refugees to prevent ISIS infiltration into the United States. In the Senate, Senator Kirk is introducing legislation to pause the refugee program until a time when our law enforcement and defense entities reach a level of certitude that they can in fact prevent ISIS infiltration via refugees without unnecessary risk to Americans.”
A “level of certitude” to protect against “unnecessary risk” is a whole lot different than “100 percent assurance” that nobody has ISIS ties.
* There are some legit concerns, however…
In a call with senior Obama administration officials Tuesday evening, several governors demanded they be given access to information about Syrian refugees about to be resettled by the federal government in their states. Top White House officials refused.
Over a dozen governors from both parties joined the conference call, which was initiated by the White House after 27 governors vowed not to cooperate with further resettlement of Syrian refugees in their states. The outrage among governors came after European officials revealed that one of the Paris attackers may have entered Europe in October through the refugee process using a fake Syrian passport. (The details of the attacker’s travels are still murky.) […]
“There was a real sense of frustration from all the governors that there is just a complete lack of transparency and communication coming from the federal government,” said one GOP state official who was on the call.
The administration officials, led by McDonough, assured the governors that the vetting process was thorough and that the risks of admitting Syrian refugees could be properly managed. He added that the federal government saw no reason to alter the current method of processing refugees.
Gov. Rauner did not participate in the call. I’m told that they had “a senior administration official and subject matter expert on the call.” One of those folks was Rauner’s chief legislative liaison Richard Goldberg, who has significant foreign policy experience and came from Mark Kirk’s office.
* Crain’s…
We expected better of Bruce Rauner. When Illinois hired him to be its 42nd governor, we counted on him to do what he said he would do: to take on the state’s biggest problem—namely, the pension-fueled deficit crisis—and to do it as the more-or-less compassionate conservative that he styled himself to be on the campaign trail.
What a difference a year makes.
The governor this week joined the chorus of Republican governors who, in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks, declared they would accept no further refugees from Syria. This from the governor of a state whose Syrian refugee population so far numbers in the hundreds.
There is no rational basis for Rauner’s action. The terrorists responsible for the Paris atrocities were not Syrian refugees—they were European nationals. And while the governor argues that Syrian refugees represent a security threat grave enough to merit even a temporary review of our immigration procedures, we are not hearing him object to waving in refugees from other war-torn regions. How are the thousands of refugees coming into the U.S. from Afghanistan and Iraq any different from Syrians?
As the Economist recently pointed out, if a potential terrorist is determined to enter America to do harm, there are easier and faster ways to do it than via this nation’s complex refugee resettlement process. Refugees, in fact, are among the most heavily vetted of any U.S. immigrants, undergoing at least 18 months of background checks before being allowed to move freely on U.S. soil. […]
What’s shameful is the governor very likely already knows banning additional Syrian refugees from the Land of Lincoln is ridiculous. Why do we think so? Because we know he’s a smart and fairly reasonable person. Yet he made this declaration anyway—despite evidence that he doesn’t have the legal authority to do so.
* Um, OK, did the Crain’s editorial board forget about this?…
With Election Day fast approaching, Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn is seeking to inoculate himself against criticism he hasn’t done enough to jump start Illinois’ economy, while Republican challenger Bruce Rauner is trying to make the final week of the campaign about the Ebola virus. […]
Rauner said his support for an Ebola travel ban was based in part on conversations with Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk’s staff.
Gov. Quinn had no legal authority to institute a travel ban and everybody, including Crain’s (which endorsed Rauner), knew it. This is not some new Bruce Rauner.
* Lynn Sweet…
A Syrian family fleeing war starts a new life in Chicago on Wednesday, despite Gov. Bruce Rauner’s temporary ban on accepting Syrian refugees in the wake of the Paris attacks.
The Muslim family of five – parents and three children – will be assisted by volunteers organized by Exodus World Service, the non-profit headquartered in suburban Bloomingdale dedicated to mobilizing “the Christian community to welcome refugees.” […]
A spokesman for the Jewish Federation of Chicago, the agency that administers the Illinois Refugee Social Services Consortium, a network of nine non-profits who contract with the federal government to provide services, said Tuesday nothing has changed.
What will Rauner do about those three kids? He can’t expel them. Will he deny them federal benefits that the state controls?
* Meanwhile…
In Germany, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere told reporters in Berlin that a Syrian passport found with one of the Paris attackers with the name Ahmad al Mohammad may have been a false flag intended to make Europeans fearful of refugees. The passport showed registrations in Greece, Serbia and Croatia, which he described as “unusual.”
He said the multiple registrations by a person using the passport were “evidence that this was a trail that was intentionally laid, but it can’t be ruled out at the moment that this was an IS terrorist who came to France … via Germany as a refugee.”
* Related…
* Overall hate crimes down, except against Muslims: FBI
* Steinberg: Give Rauner a break
* Tribune editorial: The case for a refugee pause: Cooler heads, and this includes House Speaker Paul Ryan and Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, have called for a “pause” in the acceptance of Syrian refugees. The Obama administration should take heed.
* Sneed exclusive: Burke plans to reaffirm Chicago as sanctuary
* Tom Kacich: State — and C-U — once welcomed refugees
- Anonin' - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 11:04 am:
Goldberg? Does this mean he is skippin’ the Vegas trip with the SuperStars?
Oh and how about the 2,000 already here?
Are we doin’ a big round-up?
- walker - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 11:08 am:
The “cooler” heads are the ones not calling for a halt to what is already a months-long vetting process.
This will go the way of the Ebola virus scare, and will not be part of the local political landscape come election time.
Unless, of course, something new happens to frighten everybody again.
- D.P.Gumby - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 11:15 am:
How do we know the Syrian refugees don’t have Ebola? Huh? Huh? so prove that to me!!!! (tin foil is on sale at Dollar Store)
- Keyrock - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 11:17 am:
Great column by Steinberg.
- @MisterJayEm - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 11:18 am:
– Neal Katyal, Acting Solicitor General of the United States,Confession of Error: The Solicitor General’s Mistakes During the Japanese-American Internment Cases, May 20, 2011. http://www.justice.gov/opa/blog/confession-error-solicitor-generals-mistakes-during-japanese-american-internment-cases
Let us not, out of panic or for political advantage, give our grandchildren cause to be ashamed of us.
– MrJM
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 11:19 am:
– How are the thousands of refugees coming into the U.S. from Afghanistan and Iraq any different from Syrians?–
It’s absolutely pointless to try and find good-faith logic and reason to this raw political fear-mongering.
Why Goldberg? IEMA Director Joseph has the formal title of the governor’s homeland security advisor.
What does that title mean if he’s not the most qualified for this particular “issue?”
Unless, of course, the administration views it as a political issue, not a public safety issue.
Then, Goldberg makes sense.
FWIW, The Guardian today has an analysis pointing out the rather obvious differences between Europe and the United States when it comes to preventing terrorism.
- crazybleedingheart - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 11:21 am:
== I’m told that they had “a senior administration official and subject matter expert on the call.” One of those folks was Rauner’s chief legislative liaison Richard Goldberg, who has significant foreign policy experience ==
LOL, no. Not even close.
I mean, I guess it was “significant” when Goldberg apparently advised Kirk and Rauner to call for an illegal travel ban.
But I’ll stick with the *actual* “subject matter experts,” TYVM. There are some in IL, actually. Just not in the Gov’s office.
- cdog - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 11:21 am:
Sanctuary cities? How about a few in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Brunei, UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar…
These are extremely wealthy countries in the region, who seem to be just sitting back waiting for Europe and the US to fix their Sunni/Shia/Baath disaster.
Saudi Arabia just hosted several million visitors for Haj, seems they could get a little more skin in the game. /snark, but not really.
- Nonsense - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 11:22 am:
This is dusgusting pandering nonsense. Refugee vetting is among the most intense vetting performed for anybody entering this country. It takes roughly two years. This is just empty grandstanding by Republicans (and yes except for a couple conservative Democrats, it’s all Republicans) to try to score political points. Unfortunately, they are scoring points by stoking the most base, xenophobic, tribal tendencies in their supporters. It’s embarrasing that our guys are joining that ugly chorus.
- Cheryl44 - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 11:26 am:
You know what cdog? Sunni. Shia.
Try again.
- 47th Ward - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 11:28 am:
===This week, I urged President Obama to ensure no refugee related to the Syrian crisis is admitted to our country unless the U.S. government can guarantee, with 100 percent assurance, that they are not affiliated with ISIS.===
I guarantee this Syrian refugee is not affiliated with ISIS.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/02/shocking-image-of-drowned-syrian-boy-shows-tragic-plight-of-refugees
If anyone wants to know why I get so upset about this refugee ban, maybe this will explain.
- cdog - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 11:30 am:
@Cheryl44
Bashar Al-Assad, President of Syria, is from the Arab Socialist Ba’aath party, and is part of the problem.
(same party as Saddam Hussein was)
try again.
- 47th Ward - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 11:41 am:
===try again.===
cdog, Assad is a member of the Alawite sect, and is supported by Iran and Iran’s Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah. Iran is a Shiite state, as are the Alawites and Hezbollah.
Hussein was a Sunni, although to his minor credit, he wasn’t a Theocrat. The Saudi’s are Sunni Muslims too, and finance and export Wahhabism, a particularly conservative interpretation of Islam that promotes strict accordance to Sharia law. ISIS is comprised of Sunni Muslims.
I hope that helps your understanding of some of this mess cdog, but I doubt it.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 11:43 am:
Since Sandy Hook, there have been more than 1,000 documented mass shootings in the United States.
Guess how many involved Syrian refugees?
Meanwhile, it was reported here the other day that 50,000 Illinoisans have been refused issuance or had their FOID cards revoked, under state law, due to mental illness.
Yet the ISP has no clue as to how many of those folks currently possess guns, illegally. and no authorities are employing the tools of the state law to find out.
That would appear to be a public safety issue.
Who in the administration is carrying the ball to ensure that state law is being executed faithfully, when it comes to guns and the mentally ill?
- Wensicia - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 11:47 am:
The fear mongering by mostly Republican leaders is exactly what ISIS wants. Besides, I believe they’re more interested in recruiting radicals from this country, not sending in terrorists.
- Hedley Lamarr - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 11:55 am:
=we expected better from Rauner=
Really?
- pundent - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 12:05 pm:
@Wensica - Exactly. It is far easier and more common to radicalize would be terrorists over the internet than it is to slip someone through a refugee process that has an 18-24 month vetting procedure. Why would ISIS even bother with that? So if we really have “grave concerns” and wish to focus on the more realistic risk, why don’t we order all citizens off-line until we have a level of certitude that we’ve properly secured the internet?
- VanillaMan - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 12:05 pm:
Kirk is saying the right thing politically. He is running for reelection, and this is what he needs to do. This is a vote of confidence towards a presidential administration without effective policies against ISIS - and that lame duck president is losing that vote of confidence.
It is a lot like the Ebola scare - dismiss it at your own political risk and you will lose at the ballot box.
- cdog - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 12:17 pm:
Thank you 47th Ward. I am, and have been, up to date on the facts you state.
My point remains–regardless of religion (Sunni, Shia, or their subsets), OR the political factions such as Baath, the gulf states I previously mentioned are inexcusably weak on their actions to alleviating the refugee problem.
Further, why is there so little media attention about this?
The rich countries of the region, need to step up and offer sanctuary to the refugees, ASAP.
- Ghost - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 12:24 pm:
reminds me of gamgs of ny. current in house refugees having lived here long enough to demand later arrivng refugees be kept out….
- Juvenal - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 12:27 pm:
@Vanillaman:
ICYMI,
“A spokesman for the Jewish Federation of Chicago, the agency that administers the Illinois Refugee Social Services Consortium, a network of nine non-profits who contract with the federal government to provide services, said Tuesday nothing has changed.”
- Team Sleep - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 12:31 pm:
All partisanship aside - what are the GOP governors going to do? Sue the President? We saw what happened when the ACA lawsuits were filed. Hint…it wasn’t pretty.
My guess is that some high-level GOP officials are starting to gently remind governors and others in power that the two options are to either play nice or go to court. That’s it.
This is why Kirk’s biggest problem may not be his own mouth but rather the exodus he suffered when his senior staff left at the end of 2014. That’s a huge blow and a loss of office capital.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 12:33 pm:
Cdog, Brunei is hardly “in the region,” unless the region is Earth.
What, by the way, gives you the idea that our good friends the Saudis are somehow opposed to ISIS? Or our other Gulf “allies” you mentioned?
The United States in the air and the Kurds on the ground are the only ones taking the fight to ISIS (before Paris).
Our “allies” in the region just want to take down Assad, and cause trouble for Iran and the Shia crew we put in power in Iraq. ISIS is doing that.
It’s a complicated area. Don’t get too enamored with simple solutions. They’ve been going at it a for a while in the neck of the woods.
- Juvenal - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 12:39 pm:
Where’s Evelyn at on the banning of immigrants?
- Qui Tam - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 12:39 pm:
For Illinois, it would make more sense to institute a travel ban against the insurgents from Cliven Bundy’s ranch. These folks have already taken up arms against the USA and they’re on the mainland.
- 47th Ward - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 12:42 pm:
And our NATO ally Turkey has now joined the fight, except they are fighting our only reliable ally, the Kurds, not ISIS nor Assad’s forces. This after not allowing the U.S. to use Incirlik AFB against ISIS.
And Russia is bombing the “moderate” U.S-backed Syrian rebels, who are intent to take out Assad. Russia is propping up Assad to keep its only Mediterranean naval base open and operating in Latakia. Yes, it’s a bit complicated over there.
Meanwhile, almost four million refugees are seeking help. Turkey has most of them in camps. The U.S. generously offered to take 10,000, but governors like Bruce Rauner think that’s too many. Oh, right. It’s a pause, not a shut-off. Got it. I need to remember that when Com Ed calls about the bill.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 12:49 pm:
TS, the governors are involved in a pandering, fear-mongering p.r. exercise.
As Crain’s pointed out, there have been no rational public safety or state government issues identified in this dog-and-pony-show.
Think Central American kids, Ebola health-care workers.
No worries, it will be something else next week.
- Ducky LaMoore - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 12:58 pm:
===Great column by Steinberg.===
Pure gold. I just wish the Sun Times website would stop eating my computer.
- Henry Francis - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 12:58 pm:
Governor Pence next door has already diverted refugees from settling in Indy. Let’s see if our Governor will walk the walk after talking the talk.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-syrian-refugees-indiana-20151118-story.html
- cdog - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 1:02 pm:
Mr. Word, thank you.
“What, by the way, gives you the idea that our good friends the Saudis are somehow opposed to ISIS? Or our other Gulf “allies” you mentioned?”
Answer — No Saudi actions demonstrate they are opposed to ISIS, including any humanitarian actions like offering sanctuary to refugees.
That’s a problem and the silence from these Sunni countries should be front and center in the national dialogue.
(Brunei was a big mistake on my part, but I hope it doesn’t take too much away from the purposely simple point I am making. Brunei is listed as one of the richest Muslim countries in the world and really should be stepping up too.)
- Team Sleep - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 1:07 pm:
Word - most definitely, but I’m thinking that someone is working behind the scenes to provide “cover”. That’s always how it was in my Congressional days.
- VanillaMan - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 1:29 pm:
We’re not living through rational times. You can stand there all you want and claim that nothing is wrong, but when a majority believes there is, you don’t tell them they are wrong.
You either prove it, which isn’t always possible, or you at least show some respect for their concerns.
There are some people who board up their windows and high-tail it out of hurricane zones the moment there is a hurricane entering the Gulf. Then there are those who act like there isn’t any reason to worry.
If the hurricane hits, we don’t tell those injured or families of those killed that they don’t deserve our sympathy and help.
If the hurricane doesn’t hit, we don’t tell those who skedaddled out of town that they were just being fools.
This is an emotional issue right now and showing respect towards those being emotional is the best politics.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 1:40 pm:
VMan, I’m not sure what you are saying.
If people have concerns, shouldn’t they be addressed with facts and reason?
- Juvenal - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 1:59 pm:
=== This is an emotional issue right now and showing respect towards those being emotional is the best politics. ===
If by “being emotional” you mean fear-mongering, I will have to disagree. Respectfully.
Its not as if Rauner made some off-the-cuff remark to some out-of-the-blue question.
The Rauner administration is undermining our foreign policy and the war on terror, and not by accident. Choose to believe that they are just terrified like teenagers if you like, but I see a GOP governor with flailing poll numbers hoping aboard the bus to Paranoiaville, departing from Benghaziland as we speak.
You treat that with the respect it deserves.
- Team Sleep - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 2:07 pm:
Juvenal, emotions work for both sides and work both ways.
- bloval27 - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 2:31 pm:
Now we have this breaking news
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/11/18/syrians-with-stolen-passports-caught-before-trying-to-enter-us-police-say/
- cailleach - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 4:50 pm:
Bloval27 - I say to you “consider the source.”
- cailleach - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 5:03 pm:
Bloval27 - Apologies. After commenting I checked with the BBC. I jumped to a conclusion when the Fox link seemed to suggest US police caught the men at the US border. I should know by now that strenuous jumping like that isn’t good for me.
- 47th Ward - Wednesday, Nov 18, 15 @ 5:21 pm:
Or, as Rich mentioned on the other post about this story, there is quite a difference between people traveling in Honduras, even possibly trying to get to the U.S., and those who are applying for refugee status. It’s a very big difference, and one that I wouldn’t expect Fox to grasp.