Rather than use the attacks in Paris to make a political statement about closing our border to people in dire need, let’s understand the facts:

• Refugee admissions are subject to the highest level of security checks of any category of travelers;

• Biographic and biometric information is vetted against a broad array of databases, including those of law enforcement and the intelligence community, to confirm an applicant’s identity, check for criminal history, and identify information that can support the work of our trained interviewers;

• A refugee applicant cannot be approved until all required security checks have been completed and cleared; and

• The full process is finished before any Syrian refugee would be allowed to cross the Atlantic.