Testimony of Eleanor Acer: Oversight and Government Reform Committee Joint Subcommittee Hearing

This hearing is focused on “National Security: Threats at Our Borders” including steps that the U.S. government can take to mitigate the potential of terrorists trying to enter the country. Human Rights First believes that the United States can and should protect its national security while also complying with its human rights and refugee protection commitments. As a bipartisan group of former national security advisors, CIA directors, defense secretaries, secretaries of state, and homeland security secretaries pointed out in December 2015, in the context of resettlement of Syrian refugees, “America can and should continue to provide refuge to those fleeing violence and persecution without compromising the security and safety of our nation.”