Admitting Syrian Refugees The Intelligence Void and the Emerging Homeland Security Threat

America has a long and proud history of providing safe harbor to refugees. Refugees admitted to America include the scientist Albert Einstein, from Germany, and thousands more who have contributed to American society. But we have also had refugees and asylum seekers who take advantage of U.S. safe haven to plot and carry out attacks. Over the last 4 years, the conflict in Syria has forced more than 3.9 million Syrians to flee their country, in large part due to the continued violence and savagery of ISIS, making this one of the world's biggest refugee crises. In 2015, the United States is expected to admit several thousand Syrian refugees, a number only expected to rise over the next few years, as well as almost 70,000 refugees from approximately 70 countries. Government officials and security experts have expressed concerns that terrorist groups may seek to use Syrian refugee programs as a gateway to carry out attacks in Europe and America. It is essential that we have a discussion of the humanitarian crises and the security risks inherent in the process.