HIAS = Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. It is a Jewish activist group in the USA that constantly pushes for more immigration (irrespective of human capital) and fewer background checks on immigrants to keep out potential terrorists.
From January 7, 2014 HIAS testimony:
A major obstacle to resettling Syrian refugees in the United States is likely to be the application of the Terrorism-Related Inadmissibility Grounds (TRIG) to Syrian refugees. This could bar from resettlement anyone who provided even the most minimal levels of “support”—including a meal or a night of lodging in one’s home—to anyone who engaged in resistance against the Assad regime. Children are not exempt from the TRIG bars to admission.
Since the USA Patriot Act expanded the definitions of “terrorist activity” and “terrorist group” in 2001 to include any armed opposition or support for armed groups, regardless of the goals or aims of the group or whether the United States also provides them with support, thousands of bona fide refugees have been kept from resettling or receiving permanent legal status in the United States.
The U.S. government must ensure that Syrian refugees who are otherwise eligible for resettlement and need protection are not barred because of overbroad terrorism definitions that should not be applied to them.
IRAP and HIAS endorse recommendations listed in the RCUSA Statement for the Record and urge the Administration to implement the authority Congress has granted it to exempt Syrian refugees from the TRIG provisions of U.S. law.
