ICC Note: Rep. Christ Smith from New Jersey said on Thursday that is is “unconscionable” that of the 499 Syrian refugees admitted to the US in May, not one of them was Christian. Since it is the Christians and other religious minorities that are facing direct extermination and vast persecution in IDP camps, these are the ones the US should prioritize helping. While the horrors of the Syrian Civil War and ISIS indeed affect all, it is the Christians and Yazidis who are being obliterated by a systematic genocide.

05/29/2016 USA (CNS): Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) said Thursday that it was “unconscionable” that of the record 499 Syrian refugees admitted to the United States in the first three weeks of May, not one was a Christian.

Knights of Columbus CEO Carl Anderson cited that number,reported by CNSNews.com on Monday, in his testimony on the urgent needs facing Christian refugees from Iraq and Syria.

Smith was speaking at a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing on what steps should be taken following Secretary of State Kerry’s March declaration that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS/ISIL) was committing genocide in Iraq and Syria against Christians and other religious minorities.

“They can’t even get into a UNHCR [U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees] or IDP [internally displaced persons] camp or a refugee camp, are unwanted, at risk,” Smith said of the Christians in Iraq and Syria.

“And as you [Anderson] pointed out a news report showed or indicated that of the 499 Syrian refugees admitted to the United States in May, not one – and I repeat and say again – not one was listed as being Christian or as explicitly coming from any of the groups targeted for genocide.”

“For me that has got to change,” Smith continued. “I mean that is unconscionable, it’s not like we haven’t been raising this for, in my case three years, in the cases of so many others, three years. And we’ve had hearing after hearing.”

“We’ve got the designation. Why aren’t Christians being focused upon?” Smith asked.

“Those who face genocide are a tiny fraction of the population,” Anderson said in his testimony. “They often must avoid official refugee camps because they are targeted for violence there by extremists. As a result, these minorities often do not get ‘official’ aid. This will continue to be the reality unless specific action is taken to bring the aid to where these minorities are forced to reside by continuing violence.”

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