Senator Dianne Feinstein Responds to Jim Patterson

February 19, 2016 Mr. James Patterson San Francisco, California 94107 Dear Mr. Patterson: Thank you for contacting me to share your suggestions regarding the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the United States.  I welcome the opportunity to respond. According to the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees, there are currently more than 4 million registered Syrian refugees seeking assistance after fleeing five years of conflict in Syria.  Over 2,500 Syrians have lost their lives while taking dangerous journeys to European countries.  The Syrian conflict has led to the world's worst ongoing humanitarian crisis and the worst refugee crisis since World War II.  I understand you are concerned that the U.S. Department of State may initiate a new program to resettle Syrian refugees in the United States and that you believe this poses a threat to our national security.  The President has said, for fiscal year 2016, the U.S. would accept up to 85,000 refugees, 10,000 of which would be Syrians.  All U.S. refugee applicants, regardless of their nationality, ethnicity, or religion, are required to meet strict criteria, including security checks through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Intelligence community, and the U.S. Department of State, in order to qualify for admission to the United States.  Additionally, refugees from certain countries must meet additional clearance levels.  For example, biometric information, such as fingerprints and photographs, are collected from refugees coming from Syria and compared to the U.S. vast biometric holdings on foreign nationals.  Please know that protecting the safety of Americans is my top priority as a United States Senator.  I believe we must be very careful about Syrian refugee admissions and that we must ensure we balance our security with helping those most in need.  However, I believe the Visa Waiver Program is a national security concern.  I am currently working with my colleagues in the Senate to see what changes can be made to the Visa Waiver Program, which I believe is responsible for the largest gap in our national security and can be exploited by dangerous individuals to travel to the United States.  To this end I introduced the "Visa Waiver Program Security Enhancement Act" (S. 2337), which would require travelers from Visa Waiver countries to use the standard visa application process if they have travelled to either Iraq or Syria within the last five years.  This means that those wishing to travel to the U.S. would need to submit biometric information, such as fingerprints and photographs, and have an in person interview with a U.S. consular official.  Additionally, I have advocated for increased intelligence sharing—when possible—with our allies in Europe and across the globe.   Again, I appreciate hearing your views on these matters.  Please know that I will keep your concerns in mind should the Senate consider related legislation.  Should you have any additional comments or questions, please do not hesitate to contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3841 or visit my website at http://feinstein.senate.gov.    Sincerely,                                                                   Dianne Feinstein        United States Senator DF:ar Sincerely yours,   Dianne Feinstein          United States Senator Further information about my position on issues of concern to California and the nation are available at my website, feinstein.senate.gov. And please visit my YouTube, Facebook and Twitter for more ways to communicate with me. Jim Note: I understand serious and security minded lawmakers want to respond to the concerns of citizens who are concerned for their safety, especially in California and especially and lawless San Francisco but the Visa Waiver and intelligence sharing did not stop San Bernardino where 14 Californians who were giving their ISIS inspired killers gifts for their new baby. Senator Feinstein needed to help enact a law that would have given Justice department agents access to the iPhone owned by the killers. We cannot depend on the patriotic goodwill of Tim Cook or his Board.