Bera Breaks From Obama, Votes to Tighten Syrian Refugee Immigration


November 19, 2015 |

In a vote cast earlier today, Rep. Dr. Ami Bera (D - Elk Grove, Calif.) broke with President Barack Obama and joined several fellow Democrats and most Republicans to tighten immigration standards for Syrian and Iraqi refugees.

The bill, H.R. 4038, the American Security Against Foreign Enemies (SAFE) Act, requires the Department of Homeland Security to verify that each refugee entering the United States has undergone a background check to ensure they are not a security threat. 

Bera was one of 47 Democratic Members of Congress who voted in favor of the bill authored by Rep. Mike McCaul (R-Texas). The Obama administration was reported to have aggressively lobby the Democratic caucus to vote against the bill which passed 289-137. 

“It is critical that our first priority is to keep America safe – that is why I voted today for a bill to ensure that all Syrian refugees are thoroughly vetted. However, we can’t let the terrorists win and influence who we are as Americans," Bera said in a statement. "Our country has always been a place for those fleeing violence or oppression and we must stay true to those values. This additional screening step will ensure that we know those coming into the country are not a security threat.”

President Obama has said he would veto the legislation should it reach his desk. The bill now moves to the Senate where Democrats have promised to kill it.   




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4 comments

Anonymous said...

Given immigration was one of Scott Jones’s main priorities in his Congressional announcement this week, Bera hedged his bets here. The bill is going to be killed, so his voting for it was a political move on his part. Now Bera can counter Jones that, he too, is strong on immigration.

No wonder Trump is so popular. The country is united on one front. We are all starting to hate politicians so much so Donald Trump is the Republican front runner. And if Ted Cruz agrees to be his running mate, watch out!

Closer to home: Would a non-politician please run for Elk Grove City Council? And start spouting outlandish comments a la the Donald. Voters appear to eating it up!

Anonymous said...

I thought we already had a council spouting outlandish ideas and the majority of voters eating it up.

Anonymous said...

There has been plenty of outlandish spouting from this group. What we really need is a paid trip for the whole council to visit our future sister city in Pakistan.

Anonymous said...

Better yet. All Elk Grovians, we need to start a Gofundme account to send everyone on the council to Pakistan for a free trip.

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