Federal judge questions the lack of Syrian Christian refugees entering U.S.
A federal judge is asking for an explanation from the Obama administration regarding the lack of Syrian Christian refugees being admitted to the U.S.
Judge Daniel Manion posed the question about Syrian immigrants within the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals opinion on a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed by The Heartland Alliance's National Immigrant Justice Center. The organization, which provides legal services to immigrants, is seeking information on certain terrorist groups.
In a section of the opinion, Manion expressed his concern about the lack of Christians among the Syrian refugees who entered the U.S. in 2016.
He asserted that 10 percent of the Syrian population is Christian but less than half a percent of Syrian refugees admitted to the U.S. in 2016 were Christians.
He noted that the Obama administration has reached its goal in admitting 10,000 Syrian refugees in August. Around 11,000 had entered the U.S. by September but only 56 were Christians.
"To date, there has not been a good explanation for this perplexing discrepancy," he wrote.
According to Daily Signal, Heartland Alliance claimed in the lawsuit that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) refused to release the identity of Tier III terrorist organizations.
The government said that Tier III terrorist organizations are exempt from FOIA disclosures because it would reveal "techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations."
Manion noted that groups may fall in and out of its Tier III organization because the government stated that previous allies may become enemies in the future and vice versa.
The judge wonders whether ties to Tier III groups might be a criteria in denying entry to refugees in the U.S.
"Because none of this is public, it is impossible to know if this is the major reason for the lack of Syrian Christian immigrants to the United States," he said.
"It is at least possible that incidental affiliation with some Christian militia could lead an immigration officer to deny entry to Syrians on this basis. That would be a dubious consequence," he added.
In September, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News that religion is only one of the criteria in determining a refugee's viability for entry in the U.S.
