367 Syrian refugees have been recently resettled in Florida, making the state a top ten state for Syrian refugee resettlement, according to a new Freedom of Information Act request submitted by the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) and shared with the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).
FAIR Executive Director Bob Dane noted that these numbers represent the tip of the iceberg of what is yet to come. “Admitting such a large and potentially dangerous number of Syrian refugees not only puts immediate financial strain on American taxpayers, but also puts American lives at risk. ISIS has promised to use the refugee stream to conceal terrorist flows into the U.S., and President Obama is making their effort even easier.”
Despite stark warnings from top national security experts – including CIA Director John Brennan – who recently testified that ISIS is likely exploring options for infiltrating the West, “including refugee flows,” the Obama administration is sticking with plans to resettle at least 10,000 Syrians in the current fiscal year alone. The administration has also greatly reduced the refugee screening process, from between 12 to 18 months to a mere 3 months.
Florida Governor Rick Scott has expressed serious reservations about the greatly condensed screening process. „Several organizations have requested that our state Department of Children and Families support the relocation of 425 possible Syrian refugees to Florida, as they receive federal funding to house these refugees in our state. Following the terrorist attacks by ISIS in Paris that killed over 120 people and wounded more than 350, and the news that at least one of the terror attack suspects gained access to France by posing as a Syrian refugee, our state agency will not support the requests we have received”
Despite that, refugees have already been settled in Clearwater, Delray Beach, Jacksonville, Kissimmee, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Zephyrhills.
According to the FOIA, the top ten states for Syrian refugee resettlement between FY 2014 and April, 2016 are:
Michigan 367
California 364
Texas 284
Pennsylvania 263
Illinois 236
Arizona 215
Florida 184
Ohio 134
North Carolina 125
New Jersey 120