WH Refuses Governors Information on Refugees

In a call with senior Obama administration officials Tuesday evening, several governors demanded they be given access to information about Syrian refugees about to be resettled by the federal government in their states. Top White House officials refused.

Over a dozen governors from both parties joined the conference call, which was initiated by the White House after 27 governors vowed not to cooperate with further resettlement of Syrian refugees in their states. The outrage among governors came after European officials revealed that one of the Paris attackers may have entered Europe in October through the refugee process using a fake Syrian passport. (The details of the attacker’s travels are still murky.)

The administration officials on the call included White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, State Department official Simon Henshaw, FBI official John Giacalone, and the deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center John Mulligan.

On the call several Republican governors and two Democrats — New Hampshire’s Maggie Hassan and California’s Jerry Brown — repeatedly pressed administration officials to share more information about Syrian refugees entering the United States. The governors wanted notifications whenever refugees were resettled in their states, as well as access to classified information collected when the refugees were vetted.

“There was a real sense of frustration from all the governors that there is just a complete lack of transparency and communication coming from the federal government,” said one GOP state official who was on the call.

The administration officials, led by McDonough, assured the governors that the vetting process was thorough and that the risks of admitting Syrian refugees could be properly managed. He added that the federal government saw no reason to alter the current method of processing refugees.

Florida governor Rick Scott asked McDonough point blank if states could opt out of accepting refugees from Syria. McDonough said no, the GOP state official said.

In a readout of the call Tuesday night, the White House said that several governors “expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to better understand the process and have their issues addressed.” The White House noted that “others encouraged further communication” from the administration about the resettlement of refugees.

Hassan, one of two Democrats to challenge the administration on the call, had already come out in favor of halting the flow of Syrian refugees to the United States. She expressed anger that state officials aren’t notified when Syrian refugees are resettled in their territory.

Brown said he favored continuing to admit Syrian refugees but wanted the federal government to hand over information that would allow states to keep track of them, the GOP state official said.

McDonough responded to Brown that there was currently no process in place to give states such information and the administration saw no reason to change the status quo. The non-governmental organizations that help resettle the refugees would have such information.

Brown countered by noting that state law enforcement agencies have active investigations into suspected radicals and that information about incoming Syrian refugees could help maintain their awareness about potential radicalization. He suggested the U.S. had to adjust the way it operates in light of the Paris attacks.

McDonough reiterated his confidence in the current process. While promising to consider what Brown and other senators had said, he emphasized that the administration had no plans to increase information sharing on refugees with states as of now.

Top GOP senators echoed the concerns of governors Tuesday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr joined House Speaker Paul Ryan’s call for a “pause” in the flow of Syrian refugees, which is intended to include 10,000 people by 2016. McConnell said “the ability to vet people coming from that part of the world is really quite limited.”

Democratic senators are split on the issue. Senators Chuck Schumer and Dianne Feinstein said Tuesday there may be a need for a pause in accepting Syrian refugees but they both wanted to hear more from the administration about the issue. Sen. Dick Durbin said that refugees aren’t the primary source of concern. He pointed to the millions of foreign visitors who enter America each year.

“Background checks need to be redoubled in terms of refugees but if we’re talking about threats to the United States, let’s put this in perspective,” he said. “Let us not just single out the refugees as the potential source of danger in the United States.”

The White House is trying hard to engage governors and lawmakers. Top administration officials held several briefings about the issue Tuesday on Capitol Hill. But if they don’t agree to share more with state and local politicians, the opposition to accepting Syrian refugees could quickly gain ground.

*** Meanwhile Speaker Ryan asked DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson and FBI Director James Comey for a Paris briefing. It happened behind closed doors, and did not go well.

TheHill:

Partisan divisions over continuing to allow refugees fleeing the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) into the U.S. deepened Tuesday as Obama administration officials briefed the House on last week’s terrorist attacks in Paris.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and FBI Director James Comey offered House members a classified briefing following the Friday massacre in the French capital that killed more than 120. Senators are expected to be briefed Wednesday. Johnson said he reviewed the domestic security “enhancements” enacted in recent days following the attacks in Paris.

He further maintained that the U.S. should continue allowing vetted Syrian refugees into the country despite calls from Republicans to halt the program in the aftermath of the Paris attacks.

“I believe that a lot of countries in the world right now are looking to the United States for leadership,” Johnson told reporters after the briefing.

“It is a careful, time-consuming process. And we are committed to continuing that process with regard to Syrian refugees,” he said.

Intelligence and law enforcement officials have previously warned about “gaps” in the data that they can scan to screen refugees headed to the U.S.

On Tuesday, Republicans indicated that Johnson and Comey had not quelled their concerns about those blind spots.

The House plans to vote Thursday on legislation to require refugees from Syria and Iraq to undergo FBI background checks. The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI would further have to verify that the refugees do not pose security threats.

Both chambers are expected to adjourn Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday recess, adding pressure on lawmakers to act quickly before they depart Washington.

There is “really very little information about these refugees’ past,” House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said after the briefing.

“You don’t know who they are and you don’t have anything about their past, in terms of intelligence or databases,” McCaul said.

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) said Syrian refugees presented a risk because they “come from a terrorist country, where there’s a large amount of ISIS and al Qaeda.”

King also said he thought allowing visa waivers to Europeans who travel to the U.S. was ”definitely something that has to be looked at, because circumstances have changed.”

Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.) concluded: “I’m leaving this briefing far less comfortable than when I came in the first place.”

Democrats are largely standing by the president’s plan, arguing that the rigorous screening process ought to account for any gaps in security.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) emerged as one notable exception, but it appeared unlikely that any prominent House Democrats would join him in his concern.

Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said refugees coming into the U.S. are “very thoroughly vetted.”

“It takes two years, most times, to come through this process,” said Smith, ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.

“It’s worth noting that the evidence at this point — aside from this one mysterious passport, which hasn’t been attributed to anybody — that the people who committed the attacks in France were all born in France or Belgium,” he added.

As both sides dig in, however, the effort seems destined to be largely partisan.

“Anything constructive would be welcome,” said Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. “But I think there would be a lot of resistance within the Democratic caucus on an effort to close the door on mothers and children who are fleeing the violence around the world. “

Asked whether he was concerned about Republicans potentially trying to halt the refugee program through an upcoming government spending bill, Johnson noted that the agency that vets refugee applications isn’t subject to the congressional appropriations process.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is funded through application fees.

“It’s an organization that pays for itself,” Johnson said.