Iraqis Refugees Arrested on Terrorism Charges
Cases could hurt Obama plans to take Syrians seeking asylum
Authorities arrested two Iraqi refugees on terrorism-related charges Thursday, in a move that undercuts President Obama’s plans to bring 10,000 Syrian refugees to the U.S. this year.
Prosecutors said Aws Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab, a Palestinian born in Iraq who came to the U.S. as a refugee in October 2012, traveled to Syria to train with terrorists, then lied to immigration officials about it later.
Investigators also charged Omar Faraj Saeed Al Hardan with three counts of attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State.The revelations are a major blow to Mr. Obama, who had insisted the Iraqi refugee program was a success and it proved the U.S. could properly screen out would-be bad actors from the Syrian refugee population as well.
Mr. Al Hardan came to the U.S. as a refugee in 2009, and was granted a green card, signifying permanent status and a path to citizenship, in 2011. Authorities say he lied on his citizenship application in saying he had no associations with terrorists, when in fact he had received machine gun training from the Islamic State.
Meanwhile Mr. Al-Jayab, while living in Arizona and Wisconsin, came to the U.S. in 2012, and communicated with terrorists until late 2013, when he traveled to Syria, prosecutors said. While there, he posted on social media that he was fighting with Ansar al-Islam, a designated terrorist organization, before returning to the U.S. in January 2014 to live in Sacramento.
He has been charged with making a false involving terrorism.“While he represented a potential safety threat, there is no indication that he planned any acts of terrorism in this country,” U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner, in the eastern district of California, said in a statement announcing the arrest.
Obama administration officials had said the Iraqi refugee program, which has vetted thousands of refugees over the last decade, had helped them learn how to screen out potential bad actors. Officials pointed to their experience with Iraq as proof they could also screen out Syrians.
But opponents have said Syria is a tougher country than Iraq. In Iraq, U.S. forces are on the ground and have access to Iraqi government databases. In Syria, not such cooperation is possible with a regime the U.S. has deemed an enemy.
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Breitbart: Texas Governor Greg Abbott said, in a statement obtained by Breitbart Texas, “This is precisely why I called for a halt to refugees entering the U.S. from countries substantially controlled by terrorists.”
“I once again urge the President to halt the resettlement of these refugees in the United States until there is an effective vetting process that will ensure refugees do not compromise the safety of Americans and Texans,” the governor added.
Likewise, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick expressed the same concern that state officials have previously voiced with regard to the vetting of refugees from the Middle East.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Houston confirmed the arrest but said more information would be forthcoming after the suspect makes his first court appearance, according to the Houston Chronicle. The spokeswoman for the Houston office said, “I can confirm that there was a national security related arrest. There is no current threat to public safety associated with this arrest.”
Texas Governor Abbott wrote President Obama a letter in mid-November saying, “Given the tragic attacks in Paris and the threats we have already seen, Texas cannot participate in any program that will result in Syrian refugees – any one of whom could be connected to terrorism – being resettled in Texas. Effective today, I am directing the Texas Health & Human Services Commission’s Refugee Resettlement Program to not participate in the resettlement of any Syrian refugees in the State of Texas. And I urge you, as President, to halt your plans to allow Syrians to be resettled anywhere in the United States.”
