Politico
By Burgess Everett
October 14, 2015
Frustrated
by continued U.S. reluctance to take in more Syrian refugees, Sen. Dick
Durbin and three other Democratic senators quietly visited Greece over
the weekend to
view the humanitarian crisis up close.
Alongside
Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and
Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Durbin visited with refugees on the
streets of the island
of Lesbos and in processing centers, praising cash-strapped Greece and
Turkey for their work caring for those fleeing the Syrian civil war.
But
Durbin returned from his trip more resolute than ever that the United
States should step up, announcing he’d support a bipartisan supplemental
spending bill aimed
at helping Syrian refugees and criticizing the U.S. for taking in just
2,000 Syrians.
“You
have to understand how desperate people would be to send a 15-year-old
boy and his 8-year-old sister, alone,” the Illinois Democrat told
reporters in a conference
call on Wednesday. “We can do better. And I think we should, after
careful vetting.”
Durbin
wants the United States to accept 100,000 Syrians displaced by the war
among the Syrian government, moderate rebels and the Islamic State, the
same number that
a spending bill written by Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Lindsey
Graham (R-S.C.) aims to help. However, the No. 2 Democrat has not put a
timetable on how quickly the U.S. should accept those refugees.
Some countries cracking down too hard on Islamists, State Dept. says
Meanwhile,
the Obama administration has raised its refugee cap with the goal of
accepting 10,000 Syrians next year. But that’s not good enough for many
Democrats in Congress,
and Durbin unfavorably compared the current resettlement operation to
the U.S.' efforts over the years to take in hundreds of thousands of
Russian Jews, Vietnamese, Cubans and Somalis when those countries faced
similar humanitarian crises.
“The
United States must continue to meet its moral obligation when it comes
to refugees,” Durbin said. “The United States can be helpful. I would
support a supplemental
for that purpose.”
The
window for passing such legislation may be imminent, with budget
negotiations ongoing and a spending bill needed by Dec. 11. The
Leahy-Graham bill would spend about
$1 billion on Syrian resettlement.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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