The House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to slap stringent — and difficult to implement — new screening procedures on refugees from Syria seeking resettlement, seizing on the fear stemming from the Paris attacks.
The bill passed by a vote of 289 to 137 with nearly 50 Democrats in support even after Administration officials implored congressional Democrats to vote down the bill. The measure would require that the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and the Director of National Intelligence confirm that each applicant from Syria and Iraq poses no threat. The White House has declared the requirements “untenable.”
The White House has threatened to veto the measure should it pass the Senate and be sent to the President for signature.