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Hon. President Barack Obama ID: LFG-2015-WH-0016

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW,

Washington, DC 20500

Sent via: Mail

November 30th, 2015

Re: The acceptance of Syrian refugees into the United States of America

Honorable President Barack Obama,

My name is Isaiah X. Smith and I am sending you this letter for the purpose of complementing you on

your refugee resettlement plan for Syrian citizens. I urge you to read this letter and to please send me a

response letter to my letter to you.

I. General Information and facts

The government of the Syrian Arabic Republic has turned barbaric against their own people

under the authority of President Bashar al-Assad. His government has been accused of

torture, shooting protestors, crimes against humanity, using chemicals weapons against

civilians and for being involved in other serious violations without respect to the “domestic”

constitutional and the “international” rights of individuals in Syria.

A couple of years ago I sent a letter to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in

which I have requested her to open an investigation “proprio motu” into the alleged crimes

that President Bashar al-Assad has been accused of being involved in. My complaint was

denied due to that country not being a party to the Rome Statute and due to the fact that

the United Nations Security Council has not made a recommendation for an investigation to

occur through the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

Terrorist groups and extremist groups are on the rise in Syria. For instance, the “Daesh”

terrorist group has been targeting innocent Syrian citizens and they have been committing

extreme crimes against people in Syria and around the world. Due to the extreme conflict

that is going on in that country, there are a lot of Syrians who are fleeing their country to try

their best to get refugee status in other safe countries. A lot of Syrians have died with

regards to trying to escape their country and a lot of them are being met with a lot of

hostility from foreign countries. The “Daesh” terrorist group wants countries to deny

citizenship to Syrian citizens because they want to use that as a recruitment tool for Syrian

citizens. They want Syrian citizens to feel rejected in progressive countries and then to have

them join their terrorist network due to deliberate indifference from countries that should

have acted to save them.

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Recent terrorist attacks in France and hostility being shown towards Syrian citizens

Recently the “Daesh” terrorist group has claimed responsibility for attacking people in Paris,

France which has took the lives of over one-hundred people. The cowardly attacks have

killed innocent children, French citizens and visitors in France. The attacks have also created

hostility towards Syrian citizens who are trying to get access to others countries for the

purpose of escaping the violence that is currently occurring in their “home” country.

On November 16th, 2015 Governor Greg Abbott of the State of Texas sent you a letter in his

official capacity. He stated that the State of Texas does not welcome Syrian refugees and

that he will block your resettlement plan. He claims that a Syrian refugee has been linked to

the Paris, France attacks and that American humanitarian compassion could be exploited to

put Americans in danger. I strongly disagree with Governor Abbott and the reason why is

shown below. Let us not forget that the individuals who were in the terror attacks in France

were not even Syrian citizens but they were all European nationals.

Statics on refugees being arrested on domestic terrorism charges since September 11,

2001

According to the Economist, out of 750,000 refugees that have already been taken in the

United States, none have been arrested on “domestic” terrorism charges. Also according to

the Migration Policy Institute, the only refugees that have been arrested under domestic

terrorism charges were three refugees (a pair of Iraqi refugees in Kentucky and one other

Uzbek refugee). Politicians who make the argument that denying access for Syrian refugees

into the United States of America is the best option because of the threat of terrorism is

very asinine. Given the behavior of “already” accepted refugees in this country, it is very

asinine to argue that accepting refugees into the United States of America poses a great

security concern.

Looking at shootings, domestic terrorism incidents and crimes that have occurred in the

United States, those crimes have been committed by a large amount of “domestic” citizens

of the United States. It is nonfactual to claim that Syrian refugees will be coming in the

United States to promote violence against American citizens, especially when looking as to

the current data on “domestic” terrorism incidents that have involved refugees in the

United States of America. Let us remember that in the 1900s approximately 169,000

Bosnian Muslim refugees fleeing a similar warzone to Syria were accepted into the United

States back then. Not one of those accepted refugees were charged with terrorism to this

day.

Screening process for individuals that want to claim a refugee status in the United States

of America

Typically it the application process for refugees regardless of their nationality takes

anywhere from 10-24 months. The review of each applicant is carefully considered by the

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Federal Bureau

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of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, the United States Department of

State, and a various number of “domestic” intelligence agencies. “Domestic” intelligence

agencies check the “biometric data” of the refugee applicants as well as other information

about the applicants. The process if very complicated and a very thorough background

check is conducted. So the United States of America will not be allowing “anyone” to come

into the country. They will allow individuals who have passed “security” clearances and

investigations to be permitted to come into the United States. The government of the

United States of America will not and is not being negligent with respect to making sure that

terrorists are prevented from entering the country.

II. Some states refusal to accept the Syrian refugees currently looks just like the refusal to

accept European Jewish personages in the 1930s

During the 1930s there were many Jewish individuals who were being killed by Adolf Hitler

and the Nazis in Europe. In the lead up to the Holocaust and World War II it was proposed

by some political figures in the United States of America to accept over 10,000 Jews

escaping the Nazis in Europe to come into the United States as a refugee. Despite the

proposal a lot of polls have showed that Americans back then were mostly against the

refugee resettlement plans, as were a lot of American politicians.

The United States of America around 1944s decided to accept Jewish refugees into the

United States for the purpose of helping them escape Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. By then

millions of Jewish individuals have already died from the conflict. That could have been

prevented if American political figures worked together for the purpose of accepting

individuals into the United States that were trying to escape a massive genocide that was

taking place. Deliberate indifference was mostly occurring in the United States of America

due to our initial hostility to accept individuals who were trying to save themselves and their

families from the brutal crimes that were committed by the Nazis through Adolf Hitler back

in the day.

III. The President of the United States has authority to accept refugees into the United States

of America

As you may already know, your official position as the President of the United States of

America gives you jurisdiction to accept refugees into the country. Under the Refugee Act of

1980, the President of the United States has the authority to allow refugees who face

“persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality,

membership in a particular social group, or political opinion” into the United States.

Specifically the President of the United States has the authority to do so if his administration

determines that an “unforeseen emergency refugee situation” such as the Syrian refugee

crisis exists.

The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled in Hines v. Davidowitz, 312 U.S. 52 (1941)

that the “the supremacy of the national power in the general field of foreign affairs,

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including power over immigration, naturalization and deportation, is made clear by the

Constitution.” States do not get to overrule the federal government on matters such as

refugee resettlement plans. Even when look at Arizona v. United States, 567 U.S. ___

(2012), the Supreme Court ruled that a state may not implement its own immigration rules

that are contrary to the federal government’s policy.

IV. Conclusion

You have the authority to accept refugees into the United States of America. It is extremely

well know that the acceptance of refugees into the United States is a federal issue and not a

state by state issue. As shown in the aforementioned court cases listed above and pursuant

to the Refugee Act of 1980, the authority to make “refugee settlement policies” is a federal

issue and a state cannot create its own refugee resettlement plan in contradictory with the

federal government’s plan. We are the United States of America. Not the sovereign states of

America.

I urge you to put pressure on the states to be in compliance with the Syrian refugee

resettlement plan that your administration establishes. Please do so through the U.S

Department of Justice. States do not have a right to refuse to accept your refugee plan

because the establishment of a refugee plan is a federal issue and is not a state by state

issue. I strongly believe that states that would try to refuse your lawful policy would not

have a legit legal argument to make in federal court if they were sued for compliance

purposes by the United States of America.

Given all of the hard work that you and your administration have been involved in, I would

absolutely like to congratulate and to thank you all as to the accomplishments that are and

have been made. This includes fighting for the equal treatment under the law, the

establishment of the Iranian nuclear deal to other successful things. President Obama, you

are a great role model to look up to and you are constantly making the United States of

America look good. Lastly I would like to ask you if I may visit you and your family in the

White House. It would be great motivation for me!

V. Acknowledgement Letter

A response from the Honorable President Barack H. Obama would be greatly appreciated.

You can reach me by electronic mail at: iscampaign@usa.com. You can send me a letter also

to my mailing address which is as follows:

Isaiah Smith Campaign

P.O Box 163411

Fort Worth, Texas, 76161

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Respectfully,

Isaiah X. Smith

Isaiah Smith Campaign

P.O Box 163411

Fort Worth, Texas, 76161

www.isaiahxsmith.com