Nov 17, 2015

Syrian refugees, the Paris attacks, and U.S. politics

: Migrants wait to register with the police at the refugee center in the southern Serbian town of Presevo on Monday. Refugees fleeing war by the tens of thousands fear the Paris attacks could prompt Europe to close its doors, especially after police said a Syrian passport found next to one attackers body suggested its owner passed through Greece into the European Union and on through Macedonia and Serbia last month. (Darko Vojinovic/AP)

: A Serbian police officer shows confiscated items such as scissors and knives, at a refugee center in the southern Serbian town of Presevo, on Monday. Refugees fleeing war by the tens of thousands fear the Paris attacks could prompt Europe to close its doors, especially after police said a Syrian passport found next to one attacker’s body suggested its owner passed through Greece into the European Union and on through Macedonia and Serbia last month. (Darko Vojinovic/AP)

: Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder speaks to the media on Monday in Northville Township, Michigan. Several U.S. governors are threatening to halt efforts to allow Syrian refugees into their states in the aftermath of the coordinated attacks in Paris, though an immigration expert says they have no legal authority to do so. (Paul Sancya/AP)

: House Speaker Paul Ryan, joined by House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and Rep. Lynn Jenkins, of Kansas, meets with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Tuesday following a GOP strategy session. Calling this a “moment where it’s better to be safe than to be sorry,” Speaker Ryan says there should be a “pause” in Syrian refugees coming to the U.S. in the wake of the Paris attacks, and has assembled a task force to bring legislation to a vote as soon as this week.

: Syria refugee Nedal Al-Hayk works as a fabricator on Monday in Warren, Michigan. Several U.S. governors are threatening to halt efforts to allow Syrian refugees into their states in the aftermath of the coordinated attacks in Paris, though an immigration expert says they have no legal authority to do so. (Paul Sancya/AP)

: Syrian refugees light candles to place them outside the French embassy to Germany in Berlin on Sunday for victims of the Friday attacks in Paris. Syrian activist Monis Bukhari called out for a gathering of Syrians at the French embassy. German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere made a plea against linking the terror attacks in Paris to the record influx of asylum seekers into Europe. (TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP/Getty Images )

: Syrian children take a break from pushing a trolley carrying firewood in the town of Kfar Batna, on the outskirts of the capital Damascus, on November 17, 2015. The annual birth rate in Syria has fallen by more than half since the civil war broke out in 2011, Al-Watan newspaper reported. (AMER ALMOHIBANY/AFP/Getty Images)

: Syrian refugees disembark on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea on a dinghy from the Turkish coast on Saturday. (Santi Palacios/AP)

: Syrian boys smile and eat candies on the beach, after arriving on the Greek island of Lesbos along with other migrants and refugees, on Tuesday, after crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey. At least eight people drowned when a boat carrying migrants from Turkey sank off the Greek island of Kos, the coastguard said. They were the latest of nearly 3,500 deaths at sea this year among people making desperate bids to flee war and poverty and to reach Europe, according to UN figures. European leaders tried to focus on joint action with Africa to tackle the migration crisis, as Slovenia became the latest EU member to act on its own by barricading its border. (BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)

: A Syrian man kisses his daughter shortly after disembarking from a dinghy at a beach on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from the Turkish coast on Monday. (Santi Palacios/AP)

: Syrian refugees are driven away after landing at Glasgow airport, Scotland on Tuesday. A first flight carrying Syrian refugees to Britain landed in Glasgow as part of government plans to bring in 20,000 asylum-seekers over the next five years. (OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images)