Just 3 of 478 Syrian Refugees Admitted to U.S. Since San Bernardino Are Christian

Human rights activists and people from the Muslim community display placards during a demo
Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

The United States has admitted 478 Syrian refugees since the Islamic terrorist attack in San Bernardino on December 2. Just three of the newly admitted Syrian refugees are Christians.

According to the State Department’s Refugee Processing Center, since December 2 the Obama administration has admitted one Syrian refugee identified as a “Christian,” one identified as a “Greek Orthodox,” and one identified as “Orthodox.” Another 461 Syrian refugees admitted in that timeframe were “Moslem Suni,” three were “Moslem Shiite,” ten were “Moslem,” and one identified as “other religion.”

The Obama administration has said it wants to resettle at least 10,000 Syrian refugees in the U.S. this fiscal year, despite the national security concerns of Republicans who fear terrorists might try to infiltrate the refugee flow and vetting vulnerabilities voiced by top security officials.

Monday, the Washington Examiner reported that the White House is looking to further expand the number of Syrian refugees it admits.

“We want to make sure that we can increase our numbers of refugees that are able to settle here,” Felicia Escobar, Obama’s special assistant for immigration policy, said Monday according to the Washington Examiner. “The need globally is so, so, so massive right now, given all the displacement and conflict around the world, but we also know that we have to do it in a way that’s smart.”

Escobar made her comments at a task force meeting organized by the National Association of Counties.

The San Bernadino terrorist attack carried out by Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik further heighten concerns about the vetting of not just Syrian refugees but all immigrants. Malik was admitted to the U.S. on a finance visa after immigration vetting procedures failed to detect her jihadi sympathies. Malik and Farook killed 14 people in their shooting rampage.

Less than a month earlier, 130 people were killed in coordinated Islamic terrorist attacks in Paris. At least two of the terrorists, according to reports, entered Europe by posing as Syrian refugees.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.