The U.S. must learn the costs and national security risks of the refugee resettlement program before it admits any more refugees including Syrian refugees, Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX) says.
In an interview with Breitbart News, Babin expressed his adamant opposition to President Obama’s recent call to admit at least 10,000 Syrian refugees in the U.S. next year.
“This refugee crisis was caused largely by [Obama’s] inept foreign policy,” Babin said.
“He drew red lines in the sand [that were] routinely crossed, never did a thing. He pulled everybody out of Iraq against the good advice of his own commanders,” he continued. “He did not force issues with the prime minister of Iraq, nor did he in Afghanistan. I think he can only look in the mirror and say, ‘Hey this is my creation.’”
Of specific concern to the Texas lawmaker is that ISIS will exploit the refugee program to infiltrate the U.S., the heavily-male demographic make up of the refugees, and the overall costs.
“We are crazy to be inviting the problems of the Middle East into the United States. And when we look and see the refugees that are streaming out of the Middle East — the UN itself has said itself that over 70 percent of them are military-aged males 20-30 years old. Only 15 percent are children and 13 percent are women,” Babin said arguing that the fleeing young men should be “fighting for their own country” rather than seeking out other nations.
Beyond the national security implications, Babin has been sounding the alarm about the fiscal costs associated with the refugee program, which he notes has resettled about 500,000 refugees since Obama took office. Refugees in the U.S. are immediately eligible for welfare and tend to use it at high levels.
“We have to find out just exactly what this is costing us.” he said, pointing out American workers’ current difficulties and national debt.
In July Babin introduced legislation to immediately suspend the refugee resettlement program until the Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducts a thorough audit of its costs on federal, state and local governments. He is currently collecting co-sponsors for that bill.
Speaking to Breitbart News, the freshman congressman highlighted the high levels of welfare use among refugees, and particularly refugees from the Middle East, noting that the available federal data does not account for the costs to local communities.
“This is what’s so devastating,” he said of the local costs.
“As a former mayor, school board member, I talk to these folks and read about them and their complaints,” Babin said. “Their small towns and little communities are inundated with hundreds if not thousands of refugees who are loaded onto the welfare rolls and when they roll off federal aid they go on local and state aid.”
Babin’s state of Texas is a top destination for refugee resettlement placement.
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