By Eric Stock
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said he understands why Illinois and other states have moved to stop Syrian refugees from coming into their states following last week’s terrorist attacks in Paris, though he’s not sure that can even be done.
PODCAST: Listen to Scott and Colleen’s interview with Durbin on WJBC.
“There’s a question whether they even have the authority,” Durbin declared. “I will take what they’ve said seriously. They want to know what I am dong for Illinois and what others are doing for the country when it comes to background checks.
Durbin told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin he will be meeting on Wednesday with federal officials who oversee the security screenings for refugees coming into the U.S., a process that he says can take up to two years before a refugee is accepted. Durbin said he wants to know how the U.S. can properly vet these refugees when they are coming from a war-torn country.
“How do you check on people from Syria?,” Durbin asked. “The buildings have been bombed and the government bureaucracy is fragmented if it even exists.”
Durbin said even more critical than blocking which Syrian refugees can be allowed into the U.S. is the issue of ISIS using encryption devices to protect their communications from surveillance.
That is something we have to deal with immediately,” Durbin said. “The encryption issue is critical from preventing the kind of attack that happened in Paris.”
Durbin said the U.S. allows 70,000 refugees in the country each year and all are thoroughly vetted, he added, regardless of where they come from.
Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].
