Senator Mark Kirk Tries To Reignite Anti-Refugee Hysteria

By aaroncynic in News on Feb 5, 2016 10:00PM

Illinois Senator Mark Kirk and other Senate Republicans are reviving November’s scaremongering over allowing Syrian refugees into the United States over fears terrorists can use fake passports to enter the United States.

In a letter obtained by the Hill, Kirk and 7seven other senators said that Syrian refugee acceptance should be paused until the Obama administration has a plan to identify fake passports, and that anything else is “"an unacceptable risk to the safety of our country.”

"The threat to the United States posed by ISIS-created Syrian passports is now imminent. That danger will continue to grow so long as our enemies are able to perfect these passports and exploit loopholes in refugee programs.”

Last month, Senate Democrats blocked a bill that would’ve prevented Syrian refugees from coming into the country until several officials at law enforcement agencies could personally vouch for every refugee. In November, despite the fact he had no legal or moral authority to do so, Governor Rauner made a declaration that Illinois would refuse Syrian refugees in the wake of the horrific attacks in Paris.

Despite the possibility of the use of fake passports by terrorists due to an alleged growing “industry” by ISIS, posing as a refugee is still one of the worst and most inconvenient ways to attempt to enter the U.S. illegally. According to the Washington Post, not only do refugees have to wait years for approval and go through several layers of background checks and interviews, but those attempting to apply for refugee status via the United Nations aren’t even guaranteed they’ll end up in the United States.

Kirk’s interest in trying to whip up some anti-refugee fervor might be purely political, reports the Chicago Tribune. In September, his opponent Tammy Duckworth signed a letter to President Obama urging him to take on more refugees, including 100,000 Syrians. Kirk turned that into a campaign issue, releasing an ad attacking her for it in December.