Lawmakers debate allowing Syrian refugees in Pa.

As Syrians are uprooted from their homes amid a civil war, Pennsylvanians and other Americans are debating whether they should be allowed into the United States after a series of attacks in Paris.

And even though the decision to allow refugees into the country is made on the federal level, governors in at least 31 states have issued statements expressing their desires to keep them from settling within their borders, according to a CNN report on Thursday.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf issued a statement Wednesday defending his decision to continue accepting Syrian refugees. Wolf was one of seven governors who said they will accept refugees, CNN reports.

Acknowledging the debate as emotional, state Rep. Kevin Schreiber, D-York, said it is important to remember the United States is a country of immigrants and one that comes to the aid of others in times of crisis. Refugees are families fleeing the same evil the United States fears and fights, Schreiber said.

"If I were homeless, I hope someone would offer me shelter," Schreiber said. "If we react with fear or xenophobia, we embolden those that wish for us and refugees to live in fear and terror."

On the federal level, Congressman Scott Perry, R-Carroll Township, applauded the passage of a House bill supporters say will protect Americans from Islamic terrorists looking to exploit the United States' refugee program.

The American Security Against Foreign Enemies, or SAFE Act of 2015, would enact "the most robust national security vetting process in history for any refugee population," according to a news release from Perry's staff.

Perry mentioned in his release America's "generous refugee policies," a tradition he said should continue, but noted that common sense steps should be taken to ensure those seeking refuge in the United States don't take advantage of the country's generosity.

The American SAFE Act requires comprehensive background checks of every refugee from Iraq or Syria before they can be admitted into the United States and certification that none pose a threat, Perry's release states.

Under the act, which still needs Senate and White House approval, no refugee from Iraq or Syria will be allowed in the U.S. unless the FBI director certifies the background investigation of each refugee and the secretary of Homeland Security, FBI director and the National Intelligence director certifies to Congress that each refugee is not a security threat to the U.S., according to Perry's release.

Before the legislation was pushed through Congress, however, strict guidelines were already in place for refugees seeking admittance to the United States. It's a process completely different from those in Europe, said Matthew Soerens, U.S. director of church mobilization for World Relief, one of nine organizations in the country that helps federal agencies relocate refugees.

In Europe, people reach a border and a country will take them in before vetting them, Soerens said. Refugees fleeing Syria cannot reach the United States without being vetted, he said.

And that's a process handled by several intelligence agencies that typically takes more than a year, said Lee Williams, vice president and chief financial officer of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants.

Since the civil war in Syria started in 2011, 7 million Syrians have been displaced from their homes, 4 million of whom have fled their native country, Soerens said. Less than 2,220 Syrians have been admitted to the United States since then, Soerens said. Ten percent of them have been resettled by World Relief, a faith-based group that helps refugees get on their feet once settled.

"Only now are we starting to see a small number of arrivals," Soerens said, referring to the lengthy vetting process.

Pennsylvania refugees by the numbers

2014

2,739 refugees, none of which came from Syria

2013

2,507 refugees, 12 of which came from Syria

2012

2,809 refugees, none of which came from Syria

-- According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement

Contact Mark Walters at 771-2032 or follow him on Twitter at @walt_walters.