Migrant Gang Crisis Undercuts Admin on Refugee Screening

The Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies on Friday laid out a convincing case that the federal government’s screening process to weed out gang members among the unaccompanied Central American minors crashing the border is hopelessly broken.

But the implication of that conclusion points to something potentially more troubling — terrorism.

“They’re using the same strategy for the Syrian refugees that they’re using for the Central American kids. Yeah, I would definitely classify that as a homeland security issue.”

The agency responsible for placing the illegal immigration youths with U.S. sponsors is the same one that relocates refugees from terrorism hotspots in the Middle East, the Office of Refugee Resettlement.

“They’re using the same strategy for the Syrian refugees that they’re using for the Central American kids,” said Joseph Kolb, a senior fellow at the immigration think tank. “Yeah, I would definitely classify that as a homeland security issue.”

Kolb’s report quotes Office of Refugee Resettlement spokesman Mark Weber, who insisted the agency has a vigorous screening process and does not release Central American youths deemed a danger. But the report documents that thousand of those teenagers — voluntarily and under duress — have joined the notorious Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13 gang.

[lz_jwplayer video=PXIwJD1N]

Asked about procedures for resettling Syrians, Weber told Kolb this:

“Syrian refugees of all ages undergo extensive screening by the State Department and Department of Homeland Security before they are allowed to enter the United States. As previously noted, children that are placed in our care are first apprehended and screened by the Department of Homeland Security. Syrian refugees of all ages undergo extensive screening by the State Department and Department of Homeland Security before they are allowed to enter the United States.”

Weber described that each child referred to the ORR gets a comprehensive background check and he boasted of a “robust pre-screening process.”

Kok told reporters on a conference call Friday that the “self-proclaimed vigilance in screening these children” and their sponsors prompted him to press Weber on procedures for Syrian refugees.

[lz_related_box id=”238843″]

“Essentially, what the answer was is the same answer that he has given me with how they vet the Central American children,” he said. “That’s the same procedure that ORR said they’re gonna use for Syrian children. Now, I consider that a pretty significant issue.”

Kolb’s report centers on gang violence that has ravaged the Long Island, New York, city of Brentwood. Since the county, Suffolk, already had a high number of residents from Central America, it has received a disproportionate share of the unaccompanied minors. According to the Office of Refugee Resettlement 3,709 have been placed in Suffolk County since 2014. Brentwood has taken in about half that number, according to the report.

Kolb said the community, which has four mosques and a madrassa, also might be an appealing location for Syrian refugees.

“This could potentially be a significant issue,” he said.

Lenny Tucker, president of the Brentwood Association of Concerned Citizens, told reporters that some people are worried.

“That has been a concern that has been whispered throughout the community for a while, and as you all know, we are always the last ones to find out,” he said.

Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, said the Office of Refugee Resettlement does not consult with the communities where it places unaccompanied children from Central America.

“Nor is their much of a consultative process that takes place with the resettlement of  refugees, either,” she said. “Most of the decisions on that are made by the contractors to the federal government.”

Tucker said there may already be refugees living in his community.

“We’re pretty much at the mercy of the officials, and we all know that we already have confrontations with them,” he said. “They haven’t been forthcoming.”