News / Politics

US Senate bill to tighten noose around Iraqi, Syrian refugees

Saturday, 16 January 2016 5:03 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 16 January 2016 5:07 PM ]

Syrian refugees, stuck between the Jordanian and Syrian borders, wait to cross into Jordan on January 14, 2016. (AFP photo)

The Senate will consider new measures to make it even more difficult for refugees trying to enter the United States from Iraq and Syria.

Back in November, the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the legislation that the White House said "would provide no meaningful additional security for the American people."

Under the bill, no refugees from Iraq and Syria could enter the country until stricter screening is in place and it becomes clear that the refugees do not pose a national threat.

The bill's requirements would effectively suspend admissions of Syrian and Iraqi refugees.

Reports say the legislation will have a much harder time making it through the Senate.

The bill will go to the Senate next week. For a final pass in the upper house of US Congress, it needs the approval of at least six Democrats in addition to all 54 Republicans.

Democratic opponents of the legislation dismissed it as something simply designed to make people feel better.

Last year, the US president unveiled a plan to allow 10,000 Syrian refugees to enter the country.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The crisis has reportedly claimed the lives of more than 260,000 people so far and displaced millions of others.

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