Johnson, Dingell Discuss Refugee Issues at UM-Dearborn

DEARBORN, MI – U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, joined Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson Wednesday in events that included a roundtable discussion with Iraqi and Syrian refugees at the University of Michigan-Dearborn campus.

Johnson has defended the Obama administration’s refugee policy, and has described the vetting of refugee applicants from Syria and Iraq as “extraordinarily thorough and strong.” The Republican-controlled Congress wants to limit the number of refugees. In a vote in the House late last year, several Democrats crossed the aisle to approve the legislation.

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During the sessions restricted to university students, faculty and staff, Johnson emphasized the importance of working within local communities to combat violent extremism, reminding those in attendance that “homeland security starts with hometown security, and that we are all stronger when we work together,” Dingell said in a statement.

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“This starts with respecting and promoting the great cultural and religious diversity in this country, and specifically in southeast Michigan,” the congresswoman said. “Secretary Johnson meeting with refugee families helped remind all of us about the importance of upholding our values as Americans and opening our arms to people who are fleeing violence and persecution around the world.”

“We all have a responsibility to pull together to create safer, more secure neighborhoods for our families, not just now but into the future,” she said.

The visit came a day after President Barack Obama challenged Americans to confront their fears in his final State of the Union address.

“As frustration grows, there will be voices urging us to fall back into tribes, to scapegoat fellow citizens who don’t look like us, or pray like us, or vote like we do, or share the same background,” Obama said. “We can’t afford to go down that path.”

Refaai Hamo, the Syrian civil engineer with a doctorate whose haunting story of loss and hope for the future tugged at the world’s heartstrings and drew a personal response from Obama, was a guest of First Lady Michelle Obama.