The US House of Representatives [official website] voted 289-137 [roll call] Thursday in favor of suspending the program allowing Syrian and Iraqi refugees to enter the US. On Wednesday the White House stated [statement, PDF] that President Barack Obama would veto the legislation [text, PDF], should it reach his desk. The Obama administration previously planned [CNN report] a program that would allow at least 10,000 Syrian refugees to be admitted next fiscal year without religious screening. Following the recent terrorist acts in Paris [JURIST report], lawmakers have expressed concern that terrorists may exploit [press release] this program for their own agenda. The bill would require refugees from Syria and Iraq to receive additional background investigations from the FBI, Homeland Security and the Director of National Intelligence. The bill would not impose any religious screenings. Obama has been asked to suspend the refugee program until proper measures have been implemented to ensure national security. The White House made the following response in its statement:

The certification requirement at the core of H.R. 4038 is untenable and would provide no meaningful additional security for the American people, instead serving only to create significant delays and obstacles in the fulfillment of a vital program that satisfies both humanitarian and national security objectives. No refugee is approved for travel to the United States under the current system until the full array of required security vetting measures have been completed.Thus, the substantive result sought through this draft legislation is already embedded into the program. The Administration recognizes the importance of a strong, evolving security screening in our refugee admissions program and devotes considerable resources to continually improving the Nation’s robust security screening protocols. The measures called for in this bill would divert resources from these efforts.

The bill now goes before the Senate, where its fate is uncertain.

The Syrian refugee crisis is directly related to human rights abuses [JURIST report] committed by the Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. In July US and Turkish officials agreed [press briefing] to establish a “safe zone” [JURIST report] for Syrian refugees fleeing IS. In November 2014 Amnesty International [advocacy website] reported [press release] that Syrian refugees in Turkey face destitution if not human rights abuses [JURIST report]. In March 2014 the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic [official website] urged the international community to respond to recent and recurring crimes against humanity perpetrated by both governmental and non-governmental entities.