A program designed to tighten the process for allowing refugees into the United States fell short of the required 60 votes to allow debate on the measure.

South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds says the American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act is a responsible way to protect American citizens especially considering the current climate. “If they were coming in from Iraq and Syria, we want assurances from the folks who are responsible for our security that they’ve got a system in place, to vet the individual refugees coming specifically from there. The Inspector General should also be able to review the processes in place and make sure that we are doing it right.”

Republican Presidential candidate Senator Rand Paul also voted for the measure and gives a specific instance of how the current process is unsafe. “We had two refugees in my hometown of Bowling Green, Kentucky who actually tried to buy Stinger missles to attack us. One of them had fingerprints on an exploded fragment of a bomb and was in our database. However we didn’t do a good job of looking into the database and he got here anyway.”

Opponents of the measure claim that the SAFE Act would deny protection to refugees who are extremely vulnerable and living in terrible conditions as they flee oppression. The SAFE Act received overwhelming support when it passed the House last November.

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