The fall of Syria's leadership after decades in power has left an unsettled situation in the mostly-Muslim country, with a group formerly tied to al-Qaeda now in charge while promising "reforms." That is raising new concerns about a wave of refugees fleeing the uncertainty and chaos in the country. Most of those refugees would likely go to Europe, which experienced its first migrant wave nearly a decade ago during the civil war in Syria. But some could even end up here in the U.S., which has seen an influx of tens of thousands of unvetted Afghan refugees since the fall of that country to the Taliban in 2021.
Concerns about unvetted refugees from the Middle East coming to the U.S. are legitimate, after multiple attacks on American soil in recent years by "Special Interest Aliens," those from countries with ties to terrorism. "We certainly don't need to open up the gates to more refugees from the Middle East without having them fully vetted," says Jeffrey Addicott, terrorism law professor at St. Mary's University in San Antonio. "They pledge allegiance to a system of Sharia law that's incompatible with the Bill of Rights, so even of they're not terrorists, if their life view rejects the very foundations of our country...these people should not be allowed into the country."
Aside from national security concerns, Addicott argues it makes no logistical sense to bring people from the opposite side of the world and a completely different culture to a place they've never been. "I'm more for establishing refugee camps over there, and then they can be returned to their area where they speak a common language and have common customs," he tells KTRH. "Instead of the knee-jerk reaction of many people, which is 'let's bring them to the United States'...no, that's not a good idea."
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