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[MUSIC PLAYING]
MAN 1: Sending refugees fleeing oppression back into harm's way is [INAUDIBLE].
MAN 2: --justice. We are your protection against tyranny. And I look around this crowd, and I see many of my colleagues who are ready to work for you.
[CHEERING]
MAN 1: We are negating the rights of people to come here.
[CHEERING]
[MAN SPEAKING]
SHERRINE EID: So in the past year, we've heard recently resettled about 100 families or 100 individuals, depending on-- some came as families. And some came as individuals. Most of the families came with toddlers or babies and infants. Very few came with children that were older than elementary school age. For a family to know that they might not be able to be reunited when they were told, during their multiple year series of interviews, that they were going to be reunited with their families, I don't know what to say to them.
Many of them actually were not trying to come to the United States. They were trying to go to other countries. But they were selected by UN agents initially in these refugee camps. They were vetted for anywhere from 18 to 24 months if they were Syrians. And because we didn't have troops on the ground, that vetting process took a lot of time.
SYRIAN REFUGEE MAN: You're afraid because we are not sure we can come back to the United States. Will they allow us in or not? So we freeze everything. This is too bad, you know when you're saying, I will deny Muslim refugees, and I will only allow Christians in.
AMENA TURKI: Well, it affects our family at home. We are Libyans. And Emil was on the list. And so any family or any relatives are there that can't come over here anymore for any education purposes, looking for a better life, looking for a better job.
AMNAH KHAN: I was surprised to see that people would not be standing for me, even though that's what I thought was going to happen in the country that I grew up in and started to love isn't going to love me back and accept me for who I am. And I don't think I want to stop until I've shown that I have as much of a say as everyone else in this country does.
MAN 3: We've come out on a dreadfully cold night to warm each other.
