Blocking Syrian Refugees are offensive and against the American values: Obama

President Barack Obama speaking on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in the Philippine capital, Manila, took shots at politicians back home who are trying to close America’s borders to refugees.

He slammed the US “hysteria” about the security risks posed by Syrian refugees after the dozens of US governors and Republican presidential have announced that they will not accept Syrian refugees in the wake of Paris attacks.

Attempts to block the entry of Syrian refugees into United States are “offensive and against the American values“, said US President Barack Obama on Wednesday. Obama Chides Anti-Refugee Politicians for Being ‘Scared of Widows and 3-Year-Old Orphans.

The discovery of a Syrian passport near the body of one assailant in the Paris attacks has stirred fears among US lawmakers and governors that jihadists are seeking to blend in with refugee masses in order to strike US later.
Some lawmakers have threatened to suspend the Obama administration’s efforts to allow 10,000 more Syrian refugees into the country.

Speaking, the US president accused politicians at home of trying to score political points over the issue.
“We are not well served when, in response to a terrorist attack, we descend into fear and panic. We don’t make good decisions if it’s based on hysteria or an exaggeration of risks,” Obama said.

Calls are growing for close vetting of refugees from Syria in case they are linked to groups such as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which claimed responsibility for the Paris attack that killed 129 people.