A row of solitary confinement cells.
rench authorities are still piecing together information about the terrorist operation that killed at least 129 and wounded hundreds more in Paris last week, but on Monday, a number of American politicians said they'd heard enough to make one
immediate conclusion: There's no place for Syrian refugees in the U.S.
The Islamic State claimed credit for the Friday attacks, and a Syrian passport found near one of the suicide bombers sparked concern that the group might be exploiting the migrant crisis to sneak extremists into Western countries. It's still not clear if the document legitimately belonged to the attacker, was stolen or was forged, but conservative politicians in both Europe and the U.S. were quick to push the idea that accepting more Syrian refugees would serve as an invitation to Islamic militants.
Citing those fears in a speech shortly after the attacks, French President Francois Hollande announced he was closing the nation's borders for the first time since World War II. A number of Republican governors on Monday said they'd follow suit, at least concerning Syrians, announcing that refugees from the Middle Eastern nation wouldn't be welcome in their states. GOP presidential candidates weren't far behind, suggesting the U.S. should block entry to Syrians.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that more than 4 million Syrians have fled their country, seeking safety from a punishing civil war and a brutal Islamic State campaign. Those who have survived are left to scrape by, often in refugee camps in a neighboring country like Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq or Turkey. With limited prospects for work, however, it has been nearly impossible for them to put down roots. Others have pushed on toward Europe, hoping for better opportunities.
Of the millions of Syrian refugees, the U.S. has agreed to take in just 10,000. President Barack Obama made it clear on Monday that he was still committed to that plan, which requires each candidate to undergo a security screening that typically takes 18 to 24 months. It may be difficult for congressional lawmakers or governors to override the president on this priority, but the message they are sending is clear: In their time of greatest need, many Americans have no problem turning their backs on the Syrian people.
This is what we're leaving them to face:
F
A man is helping out a baby as refugees from Afghanistan and Syria disembark from in a life boat on the shores of Lesbos near Skala Sikaminias, Greece on Nov. 10, 2015. Lesbos, the Greek vacation island in the Aegean Sea between Turkey and Greece, faces massive refugee flows from the Middle East countries.
Etienne De Malglaive via Getty Images
A general view of a make-shift camp set up by mainly Syrian refugees at the Porte de Saint-Ouen in Paris, early on Oct. 2, 2015.
Joel Saget via Getty Images
A sick refugee is pulled while walking and waiting for a chance to cross the Serbian-Croatian border at the refugee camp of Bapska.
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A Syrian woman changes her child's diaper as migrants and refugees queue at a camp to register after crossing the Greek-Macedonian border near Gevgelija on Sept. 22, 2015.
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Syrian migrants and refugees march along the highway toward the Turkish-Greek border at Edirne on Sept. 18, 2015.
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An explosion rocks Syrian city of Kobani during a reported suicide car bomb attack by the militants of Islamic State group on a People's Protection Unit position in the city center of Kobani, as seen from the outskirts of Suruc, on the Turkey-Syria border, Oct. 20, 2014 in Sanliurfa province, Turkey.
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A Syrian man walks amid destruction in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on April 10, 2013
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A boy rides his cycles in the streets of the destroyed Syrian town of Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab, Syria, on June 20, 2015.
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A Syrian Kurdish boy sits on a destroyed tank in the Syrian town of Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab, on March 27, 2015.
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