We at NumbersUSA have always been slow and cautious about responding to tragedies. We want to be sure we have enough facts before speaking and acting. And we also have not wanted to be ambulance chasers who unfairly exploit a crisis.
By yesterday, though, it seemed clear that the Paris situation demanded a practical security response in the United States, regardless of the exact nature of the perpetrators as being among or shielded by refugee flows from the Middle East.
In response to news media requests for a NumbersUSA statement yesterday, we issued the following:
Of course, most refugees and their descendants will never engage in a terrorist act. But some of our nation's top security officials have said they cannot guarantee they have screening abilities to prevent potential terrorists from entering with refugee flows.
Our government should not subject its citizens to the increasingly clear potential dangers of large-scale resettlement programs.
Fortunately, the security of our nation is better served and our humanitarian impulse and responsibility are better fulfilled by providing safe shelter for as many refugees as possible with adequate food and health care in internationally run refugee camps in people's home regions. A recent study found that the money spent on a single refugee resettled in the United States will pay for sheltering 12 refugees in their home region where they can more easily be able eventually to return home." -- Roy Beck, President, NumbersUSA
