The Patriot Post® · Last Refugee of a Lame Duck

Barack Obama is working overtime to implement the last vestiges of fundamental transformation before he departs the White House in January. Unfortunately, Americans are being put in greater danger as a result. The latest example of Obama’s pushing the envelope came this week in announcing an even bigger inflow of “refugees” to America from war-torn corners of the world. According to The Wall Street Journal, “The 110,000 target for 2017 for individuals fleeing persecution and conflict around the world represents a nearly 30% increase over this fiscal year and an almost 60% increase over the 70,000 admitted in 2015.” More specifically, “40,000 refugees would be authorized from the Near East/South Asia, which includes Syria, the most of any region. The second-largest number, 35,000, would come from Africa. A total of 14,000 slots were listed as not allocated.”

As Gary Bauer points out in Obama’s previous decision to welcome 10,000 Syrians to America, “[T]he vast majority of the refugees turned out to be Muslims. But it’s Christians and other minorities who are facing genocide in the Middle East. And U.S. law specifically states that religious minorities are to be granted preference in our refugee policy.” It’s not hard to understand why. The implications for national security are substantial, and Islamists are taking advantage at every opportunity. France is the most befitting example, but it’s happening here too. Unvetted migrants aren’t merely a security threat either. Last November the Center for Immigration Studies estimated, “For what it costs to resettle one Middle Eastern refugee in the United States for five years, about 12 refugees can be helped in the Middle East for five years, or 61 refugees can be helped for one year.” Victor Davis Hanson astutely summarizes the end result of ignoring these facts: “Obama’s only legacy seems to be that ‘hope and change’ begat ‘make America great again.’”