In Our View: Proper Time For a Pause

For now, in the wake of a tragedy that takes time to comprehend and process, House Speaker Paul Ryan has struck the proper tone.

“Our nation has always been welcoming, but we cannot let terrorists take advantage of our compassion,” Ryan, R-Wis., said Tuesday. “This is a moment where it’s better to be safe than to be sorry, so we think the prudent, the responsible thing is to take a pause in this particular aspect of this refugee program in order to verify that terrorists are not trying to infiltrate the refugee population.”

At issue is the United States’ plan to admit up to 10,000 Syrian refugees by the end of this year, with up to 100,000 entering by 2017. Those plans have been called into question by last week’s terrorist attack in Paris, for which the Islamic State has claimed “credit.” The Syrian civil war, which has raged since 2011, has killed an estimated 250,000 people and, according to the United Nations, has sent 4 million refugees into neighboring countries. It has been called the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II.

The United States has a long and proud tradition of responding with generosity toward humanitarian crises, and yet the Syrian conundrum presents new concerns. Many American leaders have expressed fears that terrorists or potential terrorists could be included in the tidal wave of refugees entering the country. “Even among the most pro-immigration wings of the Republican Party, there is a sense that national security absolutely has to come first,” said Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C. “So we’re trying hard not to overreact. But at the same time, if there’s a threat to national security, that has to take priority.”

The response from Republicans in Congress is more measured than the overreaction from many Republican governors. At least 30 governors — mostly Republicans — have said they will not allow Syrian refugees into their states. The fact that such decisions are made at the federal level has not prevented the governors from indulging the worst fears of their constituents. As Stephen Legomsky, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis and former Obama administration official, told USA Today, “The one thing I feel very comfortable saying is there is absolutely no constitutional power for a state to exclude anyone from its territories.”

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said Monday that the state will accept Syrian refugees if they are admitted by the federal government: “We have been and will continue to be a state that embraces compassion and eschews fear-mongering. I stand firmly with President Obama, who said this morning, ‘We do not close our hearts to these victims of such violence and somehow start equating the issue of refugees with the issue of terrorism.'”

It must be noted that Syrian refugees are fleeing the kind of barbarism that was on display in the Paris massacre. It also must be noted that federal officials say Syrian refugees undergo a more stringent vetting process than refugees from other countries. According to the Associated Press: “The checks — conducted by multiple intelligence and law enforcement agencies — include an interview overseas, biometrics, fingerprinting and biographical investigations to determine if individuals are truly worthy of refugee status or if they pose security risks.”

No process is foolproof. No amount of vetting can ensure that a refugee is not a terrorist or a potential terrorist. For now, it is reasonable to press the pause button and re-examine the nation’s vetting program for Syrian refugees. Yet, eventually, compassion must triumph over fear.