VETTING IS ALREADY "EXTREME"

Refugees are already investigated quite thoroughly before entry into the US. From a piece by Natasha Hall, a former State Dept employee:

During nearly four years as an immigration officer, I conducted in-person interviews with hundreds of refugees of 20 different nationalities in 10 countries. I saw countless refugees break down crying in my interview room because of the length and severity of the vetting process. From that experience and numerous security briefings, it’s clear that the authors of Trump’s order are unfamiliar with the U.S. immigration system, U.S. laws, international law and the security threats facing our nation. I can’t speak for all refugee and asylum officers, but I can say that those who have been working in immigration for years from opposite ends of the political spectrum are appalled by these new policies.

....The process for any citizen of a Middle Eastern or majority-Muslim country to get into the United States is tortuous and has become more so over the past 15 years, with additional screenings, interviews and other background checks. When I started, DHS officers interviewed four Syrian or Iraqi refugee cases per day; they now interview only two per day to accommodate the range of questions and safeguards that have been added to the process. While the average wait time for refugee resettlement is 18 to 24 months, Iraqis and Syrians typically wait several years.

....When I started, DHS officers interviewed four Syrian or Iraqi refugee cases per day; they now interview only two per day to accommodate the range of questions and safeguards that have been added to the process. While the average wait time for refugee resettlement is 18 to 24 months, Iraqis and Syrians typically wait several years.

The process starts with the United Nations’ refugee agency, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). It conducts interviews and screenings, including home country reference checks and biological screenings such as iris scans. Then the UNHCR decides if an applicant is suitable for resettlement and which country he or she can apply to. (Out of more than 65 million refugees worldwide, about 0.1 percent were resettled to the United States last year.) Another international organization assists with resettlement processing by collecting documents and conducting more interviews with the families, looking carefully for discrepancies.

By the time Homeland Security steps in to conduct an interview, the officer has a stack of biographical information on the refugee. Ironically, Iraqis, Syrians and Iranians, who are all now barred from entering the United States, are far and away the most well-documented refugees we interview. I typically had to review a raft of high school degrees, baptismal certificates, marriage and birth certificates, honors and awards, photos with U.S. service personnel, recommendations from American military members, and conscription booklets or cards, which every man in those countries has to carry. Since the United States has been in Iraq for more than 10 years, the government has a plethora of information on Iraqis — in many cases, terrorists, criminals and persecutors are recognizable and denied. In one instance, because we had this information, I knew that a man had worked with Saddam Hussein’s intelligence agency for years and potentially tortured people, and, because of checks already in place, his application was rejected.

The Homeland Security officer then conducts a detailed interview. Every word is recorded so it can be matched up with other documentation and past interviews. Some refugees are so fearful of forgetting some detail of their lives that they bring notes to the interviews to remember everything exactly. Applicants have been reprimanded or denied for having those notes because of concerns that they are fixing their scripts. Every detail of their cases is pored over and exhaustively analyzed. In one instance, while reviewing a case, I came across a report of a refugee who had handed someone a piece of fruit at a checkpoint. The incident was thoroughly investigated to determine whether the person had provided material support to a potential terrorist organization.

Next, our government performs its own intensive screening. The refugees’ information and fingerprints (also taken by Homeland Security officers) are run through the databases of nine law enforcement, intelligence and security agencies and matched against criminal databases and biographical information such as past visa applications. Behind the scenes, officers and supervisors of varying political stripes debate and discuss each case endlessly. At U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services headquarters, officers conduct more research, reconciling multiple interview notes, country conditions and background checks. They are trained to spot “red flags” or issues that might make someone inadmissible. If a national security threat emerges, certain nationalities are placed under tighter scrutiny.

The Executive Order, writes Bill Frelick of Human Rights Watch,

...states that after 90 days, any foreign nationals will be barred from entry if their home country does not provide "the information needed ... to adjudicate any visa, admission, or other benefit" under U.S. immigration law. That would presumably include refugee status.

A refugee is defined in U.S. and international law as a person with a well-founded fear of being persecuted who does not have the protection of their own government. Often, it is their governments, such as that of Bashar Assad in Syria, that are their persecutors. To expect that a government would provide information about the people it is persecuting and other relevant information to enable the United States to adjudicate the persecution claim is ludicrous.