Saying No to Syrian Refugees

By Ed Hoffman

With Veteran’s Day last week and the holidays coming, this is my last chance to talk about veterans concerns for a while, and how the presidential candidates are (or aren’t) addressing the needs of our veterans. As veterans advocate Sergeant Joey Jones shared on my show last week, veterans are paying attention to Rand Paul’s marriage to isolationism, Marco Rubio’s strong-but-nonspecific points about defense and the idea that Carly Fiorina has “by far, the most specific plan with our military” – yet still, she almost always uses her delivery of that plan as a segue into her talking points about Putin. As Joey said, “Generalities are always the biggest problem in this debate. No one wants to be specific.”

My intention was to devote this whole column to veterans this week – but then, Friday happened. Ironically, Joey also said on my show that we can talk about military strategy all we want, but, “The day someone attacks us, all that changes.” While there was not an attack on American soil last week, the attack in Paris was certainly an attack on the West – and the perpetrators have made it clear that American targets are coming.

Maybe you were unaware of this; in May 2015 after the Pamela Gellar/draw Mohammed mess happened in Texas, ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim Al Amerik posted a letter on social media stating, “We have 71 trained soldiers in 15 different states ready at our word to attack any target we desire…Of the 15 states, 5 we will name…Virginia, Maryland, Illinois, California, and Michigan.” Yes, California – ISIS in our own backyard.

How are they getting here? The most no-brainer way for ISIS to get into the United States is by infiltrating the Syrian refugee population – the thousands of people flooding the West with no documentation, who Democrats tell us will be screened “effectively” when entering the U.S. although they have yet to tell us what those screening processes are.

This week, Governor Jerry Brown said, “I intend to work closely with the President to ensure any Syrian refugees coming to California are fully vetted in a sophisticated and utterly reliable way.” To some people, this sounds great – but what happens when these refugees are dumped at our doorstep with no warning? When thousands of Mexicans and Central Americans flooded Riverside County last year, the Governor welcomed them with open arms and essentially said that the rest would sort itself out. So he’s not exactly trustworthy when it comes to promises of “sophisticated and reliable” vetting.

We already know that at least one attacker in Paris was posing as a Syrian refugee. And with fake Syrian passports found near the bodies of two more attackers, that number is likely to increase as the investigation continues. ISIS knows America’s open door policy to refugees gives them an opportunity to sneak into our country, and they know our President is looking the other way. Fortunately, some governors are taking a stand.

This week, seven U.S. governors proclaimed that Syrian refugees will not be allowed in their states – and overall, 27 governors have taken the same stand. Sadly, Californians, ours isn’t one of them. If this frightens you, be vocal about it – and think twice before you elect another Democrat as governor.

Ed Hoffman is host of The Main Event on AM590, which airs Saturday 9:30 AM- 10:30 AM and Sunday 4:00 PM- 5:00 PM. Follow him on Twitter @EdHoffman, and like him on Facebook by searching The Main Event 590.