Press Releases

WASHINGTON, DC– The U.S. House of Representatives took an important first step Thursday towards protecting the American people from ISIS and other Islamic terrorists looking to exploit our refugee program and conduct attacks in the U.S.  ISIS repeatedly has stated its intent to embed its operatives into the flow of Syrian refugees seeking entrance into Western Europe and the United States.

H.R. 4038, the American Security Against Foreign Enemies (SAFE) Act of 2015, would enact the most robust national security vetting process in history for any refugee population and assures the American people that we'll do everything possible to prevent terrorists from reaching our shores. H.R. 4038 passed by a huge bipartisan majority of 289 to 137, contradicting President Obama’s efforts to turn this into a partisan issue and clearly refuting his existing policy.

“America is the land of immigrants.  We have the most generous refugee policies in the world and we want that tradition to continue. However, we must take common sense steps to ensure that those seeking refuge in the United States don’t take advantage of our generosity," Perry said.

The United States already has donated more than $4.5 billion to assist Syrian refugees - more than any other country.

Top national security officials within the Obama Administration, including FBI Director Comey, repeatedly have warned that the U.S. government does not have the resources and dramatically lacks the information needed to fully vet refugees from Syria. At a recent House Judiciary Committee hearing, Director Comey admitted that there are risks associated with admitting Syrian refugees to the United States.

The American SAFE Act requires comprehensive background checks of every refugee from Iraq or Syria before they can be admitted into the United States, and certification that none pose a threat. Specifically, no refugee from Iraq or Syria will be admitted into the U.S. unless:

- the FBI Director certifies the background investigation of each refugee; and
- the Secretary of Homeland Security, along with the FBI Director and the Director of National Intelligence, certifies to Congress that each refugee is not a security threat to the United States.

Under this legislation, no Syrian or Iraqi refugee may enter the United States until the American people’s representatives in Congress receive these certifications.

Perry added, “The primary duty of the federal government is to keep the American people safe. So until there's a certification process in place to prevent terrorist threats in America, the Syrian and Iraqi resettlement program should be paused. Admitting Syrian refugees without these safeguards unnecessarily places our national security and American lives at risk.”