You've probably heard a seemingly ridiculous thing or two from the mouths of people who just so happen to be on TV regarding Syrian refugees, scratching your head for all of eternity in a thankless quest for logic. In a world where some peopleRepublican bassists proudly compare refugees to spoiled Chipotle milk and poisonous peanuts, perhaps logic is a pipe dream. Thankfully, someone went through the effort of proving the baffling inaccuracy of several presidential candidates' current favorite tactic.
Absolutely none of the "ISIS-linked" suspects ever charged in the United States have been from Syria, according to data compiled by the Center on National Security at Fordham University. In fact, the "overwhelming majority" were born right here in the United States, reports the Guardian. 68 people have been indicted based on "alleged involvement" with ISIS, warranting 18 total convictions. Furthermore, the data reveals that only three of those indicted would be classified as "a refugee or asylum seeker."
55 of these are American citizens, which means that 80.9 percent of ISIS-affiliated suspects charged in the United States are actually Americans. "They are young, they are spread over a wide geography, they are impervious to profiling in many ways," Karen Greenberg, director of the center, tells the Guardian. "We have tremendous border controls in this country. We’ve spent 14 years and almost a trillion dollars on our security industry. We’re pretty good at vetting them, despite what Marco Rubio says."
