WASHINGTON — A House committee approved legislation Wednesday that would let fewer refugees into the country each year and allow local communities to refuse to resettle them.
The proposal, which now goes to the House floor, was written by Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee who say it would reduce chances terrorists could use the State Department's Refugee Resettlement Program to gain access to the United States.
“Considering the terrorist threats facing our nation, we have a right to be concerned about resettlement of refugees from countries that are hotbeds of terrorist activity,” said the committee's chairman, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va.
The legislation, introduced Monday, was approved 18-9.
Democrats opposed the legislation, calling it a xenophobic attack on refugees who under current law must pass at least 18 months of screening procedures.
“These are the world’s most vulnerable, many of them women and children, and unfortunately the (Republican) answer to this crisis … is a bill to reduce refugee admissions by nearly one-third, deem all refugees suspect and effectively build walls around entire communities,” said Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the top Democrat on the committee.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/03/16/house-committee-votes-admit-fewer-refugees/81853170/
