The First Step in “Extreme Vetting”: Common Sense Interviews

Finally, the United States will once again use the most direct, time-tested, commonsense method to vet incoming immigrants and refugees to keep our nation safe: in person interviews.

In an era of ISIS urging jihadists worldwide to infiltrate and attack America, the idea that we would not at least have a face-to-face interview to ask basic questions to those seeking to enter the United States is absurd. The ACLJ has advocated this common-sense approach for nearly two years. Finally, we have an Administration that is willing to do the right thing for the American people.

President Trump’s Executive Order 13780 was in direct response to the ongoing threat of ISIS. In 2015, ISIS militants disguised as refugees entered France and attacked Paris, killing 130 innocent bystanders. Just two weeks ago, a terrorist claiming asylum brutally stabbed six women and murdered two others in Finland’s first jihadist terror attack in its two-hundred-year history. The President’s order says enough is enough.

The pause on entrance from citizens of six terrorist hotbeds and the one-hundred and twenty day moratorium on refugees were temporary measures designed to give the government the time it needed to increase security, gather vital information, and implement a new, common-sense vetting procedure. Now we are seeing the first step in that new increased vetting process: in person interviews.

Starting on October 1, 2017, two groups of people will be subject to this first round of extreme vetting: 1) anyone already in the United States on a business visa who wishes to remain in the country as a permanent resident; 2) refugees or asylum seekers hoping to bring their family members with them. According to experts, both of these groups “presented fraud and security risks.” These interviews will form of the basis for further vetting measures and meet the President’s demands for a “uniform baseline for screening.”

For the past two years, the ACLJ has consistently advocated for the thorough vetting of all persons from suspect areas coming into the United States. This, simple policy combined with refugee safe-zones in the Middle East would not only secure this country but could be the Christian answer to a worldwide crisis. We are encouraged by the President’s embrace of these common-sense measures and are hopeful that more refugee safe-zones will be made available to those in need soon.

Just two weeks ago we helped defend the President’s Executive Order and the security of our nation at the Supreme Court of the United States, filing a critical amicus brief on behalf of over a quarter of a million Americans. The ACLJ remains committed to the safety our nation, the preservation of all life, and the protection of Christians facing devastating persecution. We will not back down.