Somali Refugees in the U.S. - Terrorists have families too.

A lot has been said about the terrorist attack perpetrated by a Somali refugee in Ohio last Month. President-elect Trump visited Ohio State University last week, telling crowds afterwards at a rally in Des Moines that the attack was "a tragic reminder" of the need to take a hard line on immigration. I have a couple of things to add on the subject (including an overview of the Somali refugee community in the U.S at the end of this blog post). But first, a brief recount of what we know.

On November 28, Abdul Razak Ali Artan, an 20-year-old (or maybe 18; it's unclear) Somali national, drove his car into a group of students at Ohio State University then started stabbing people before he was shot by a police officer.

Artan was born in Somalia, he moved to Islamabad, Pakistan, with his family in 2007. In 2014, he, his mother and six siblings were admitted to the United States as refugees. In 2015, he became a permanent resident of the U.S. (green card holder). Some say his father works and lives in Dubai, others claim he never left Somalia. What is certain is that his father did not come to the United States.

Abdul Razak Ali Artan was enrolled at Columbus State Community for two years then started at Ohio State University in August 2016. In an interview for an Ohio State campus publication, he complained about American misconceptions about Islam and explained how his biggest struggle on his first day on campus was finding a place to pray. He missed Columbus State, where prayer rooms were available, adding: "we Muslims have to pray five times a day". He also spoke about how much he enjoyed life in Pakistan, and denounced Western misconceptions about this country.

First, and as my colleague Dan Cadman asked, why did we accept the Somali refugee and his family "rather than leaving them in Pakistan"?

By United Nations standards, resettlement to a third country is to be considered only "in situations where it is impossible for a person to go back home or remain in the host country." (Emphasis added.) Moreover, refugees in need of resettlement are the ones who are the most vulnerable, such as victims of torture or...Read More HERE