Holocaust Museum says US shouldn’t turn its back on refugees

The US Holocaust Memorial Museum is urging politicians and private citizens to avoid condemning Syrian refugees as a group.

The museum says in a statement issued Thursday that Americans “should not turn our backs on the thousands of legitimate refugees.” The statement compared their plight to that of Jews who were unable to flee Nazism.

Several Republican presidential contenders have called on the United States to stop accepting refugees after last week’s attacks in Paris by Islamic State militants. The House passed legislation Thursday that would essentially ban Syrian and Iraqi refugees from the US, in a bill opposed by President Barack Obama.

The statement from the museum notes that many refugees are fleeing the Islamic State and says “security concerns must be fully addressed” before they enter the US.

Six days after the Paris attacks, the House voted 289-137 Thursday to essentially bar refugees from the two war-ravaged countries while tighter entry restrictions are imposed. In a rebuke to Obama that even an eleventh-hour visit to Congress by top administration officials could not avert, 47 Democrats — including many facing tight 2016 re-elections — joined the Republicans, yielding the two-thirds margin needed to override vetoes.

The House bill would require FBI background checks on Syrian and Iraqi refugees and require three top federal officials to certify that each refugee is safe.

Administration officials and many Democrats argued that the current vetting process was already tough, and accused Republicans of campaign-season fear-mongering. They said the screening involves multiple federal agencies and usually takes 18-to-24 months, making it an unlikely pathway for terrorists to use.

The administration plans to accept about 10,000 Syrian refugees in addition to the over 2,000 who have settled here in recent years.

Though the lopsided House vote gives Republicans leverage and shows that many Democrats feel free to abandon the president, Congress adjourned until next month and its next moves were uncertain.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, slotted the House bill for possible Senate consideration and said pausing the refugee process would be “the most reasonable and balanced thing for the administration to do.”

Yet whether that bill could reach the White House remained unclear. At least six Democrats would have to join Republicans to push it through the Senate and 13 Democrats would be needed for a veto-proof tally — which the 100-member chamber’s top Democrat painted as far-fetched.

“Don’t worry, it won’t get passed,” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, told reporters.