Syrian Refugees And The Paris Attacks

After the Paris Attacks, how to handle the refugees out of Syria in Europe and the U.S. It’s a hot, divisive question. And winter is coming.

One Syrian passport found by a dead killer in Paris, and the whole conversation on Syrian refugees is in turmoil. He came through an island in Greece in October and apparently ended up a suicide bomber in Paris in November. Last Friday. In attacks claimed by ISIS. Now Europe is reeling, with a half million new migrants already inside. And American governors are saying “hold up,” even to much smaller, more vetted numbers in the USA. This hour, On Point — Syria’s refugees, after the Paris attacks. Where they’ll go, where they won’t, and what’s the right thing to do.
-- Tom Ashbrook

Kyle Blaine, deputy politics editor for BuzzFeed News. (@kyletblaine)

Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX), U.S. Congressman representing Texas' 27th District. (@farenthold)

Ryan Heath, senior correspondent for POLITICO Europe. (@PoliticoRyan)

Leonard Doyle, director of media and communication for the International Organization of Migration. (@LeonardDoyle)

Will McCants, fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, where he also is the director of the Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World. Author of "The ISIS Apocalypse." (@will_mccants)

POITICO Europe: US ‘must do more on refugees’ — "Indeed, apart from resettlement, some officials agree that the U.S. government could be of more help. In mid-October after a trip to Greece with several other senators, Democrat Jeanne Shaheen wrote to Jeh Johnson urging American officials to share their knowledge of processing migrants on the U.S. southwest border with European countries. The letter notes that there are a few Customs and Border Protection personnel in Germany right now."

Washington Post: Governors rush to slam door on Syrian refugees — "Governors across the country are scrambling to close off their states to resettled Syrian refugees in the wake of the deadly terror attacks in Paris that are linked to Islamic State extremists. The list of states climbed quickly to nine by midday Monday, even as President Obama denounced efforts to block refugees from coming to the United States as 'shameful.'

BuzzFeed News: How The United States Screens Syrian Refugees — "Fewer than 2,000 Syrian refugees have been admitted to the United States since the start of the Syrian civil war. Though the Obama administration said the United States will accept 10,000 refugees in 2016, the complex process takes an average of 18 to 24 months. Many of those refugees who would be approved in 2016 are already going through the security-screening process and upon completion will enter the U.S. next year, according to a senior State Department official.