The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed some legislation that would make it even more difficult for immigrants from Syria and Iraq to enter the country. The vote passed by a wide margin and dozens of Democrats supported it too.
The sad reality is that America's vetting procedures are already really tough. The process can take up to two years and not that many people from the Middle East are being taken in anyway.
It remains unclear if this legislation will get through the U.S. Senate, although President Barack Obama is expected to veto it if it did. So why even bother? Why is Congress doing this?
The logical inference to draw is a depressing sign of the times. Indeed, this has been a very bad week for Team America. Quite evidently, it's not enough to promote xenophobia and intolerance through rhetorical means only. It looks like Congressional Republicans (and some Democrats) want their un-American stance recorded more officially. That way, some legislators can return to their districts to tell their respective constituents how xenophobic they really are.
Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank has written a good piece about this.
Here's Milbank:
Even if the bill were to survive the Senate, President Obama would veto it, which means the only "emergency" it's addressing is public passion -- and the only sure result of Thursday's vote will be to return the House to business as usual. Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi asked Ryan on Wednesday whether he would allow a vote on an alternative Syrian refugee bill; he refused.
This retreat from "regular order" is unfortunate, because this week brought new evidence of its promise. On Wednesday morning, negotiators gathered for a conference to harmonize House and Senate versions of a transportation bill. The bill cleared the House by a large majority last week, in large part because Ryan had allowed more than 100 amendments to be taken up on the House floor -- and the result was a bipartisan and bicameral love fest.
Regular order? With many of America's political leaders steering so far away from values that are fundamentally American, it's hard to envision much regularity or order in the months ahead.
Xenophobic thinking is a cancer on American society and inimical to global peace and stability. While we'll never completely eradicate this sort of bigotry, it's imperative that we turn things around -- and soon.