In the hours before the ISIS terror attack in Paris, a group of Wisconsin Democrats and one Republican introduced a bill to grant funding for over 900 Syrian refugees.

Assembly Bill 506, authored by Milwaukee Democratic Representative Daniel Riemer, would “require the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to apply for federal grant funding to support the resettlement of Syrian refugees in this state and, if received, to contract with refugee service organizations to provide certain services to those refugees.”

According to the Legislative Reference Bureau, the bill would provide services for “no fewer than 937 Syrian refugees resettling in the state.”

In a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel op-ed pushing the bill on November 7, Riemer wrote:

We should not turn our backs on those who pose no threat to us but seek only to become taxpaying Americans. Wisconsin can be the start of a new life, free from tyranny and fear, where a small number of Syrian refugees can live freely without dreading the horrific violence of their own government and ISIS. The time to act is now.

The number of refugees, 937, is symbolic and represents the number of passengers on the MS St. Louis, a German ocean liner that arrived in the United States with mostly Jewish refugees. These refugees were not allowed entry into the U.S. and were reutrned to Europe.

Riemer, in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, did attempt to make the case that the refugees would be thoroughly vetted ahead of any settlement in Wisconsin.

This bipartisan bill maintains the safety measures already in place that ensure that admitted refugees do not pose any security or health risks. Refugee applicants are now rigorously screened and vetted by the National Counterterrorism Center, the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center, the Department of State and the Department of Defense. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security conducts interviews with applicants in order to assess suitability before they are allowed to travel to the United States. This bill would do nothing to alter the stringent standards for security and safety we currently have in place.

The bill also makes sure funding is narrowly limited to admitting and helping “refugees,” not “economic migrants.” Applicants for refugee status must continue to apply through the United Nations, which makes a determination about whether to designate an individual as a “refugee.” The U.S. Department of State independently determines if an applicant qualifies for “refugee” status in the eyes of the U.S. government.

In the wake of the Paris terror attacks, at least one of the attackers entered Europe via Greece on a boat full of migrants last Fall. Governors in Michigan and Alabama have already said they will refuse and suspend admittance of Syrian refugees to their states.

Sponsors of Assembly 506 include:

Rep. Daniel Riemer (D)
Rep. Tom Larson (R)
Rep. Eric Genrich (D)
Rep. Nik Milroy (D)
Rep. Cory Mason (D)
Rep. Terese Berseau (D)
Rep. Evan Goyke (D)
Rep. Jonathan Brostoff (D)
Rep. Mandela Barnes (D)
Rep. Mark Spreitzer (D)
Rep. Jocasta Zamarripa (D)
Rep. Sondy Pope (D)
Rep. Lisa Subek (D)
Rep. Dave Considine (D)
Rep. David Bowen (D)
Sen. Nikiya Harris Dodd (D)
Sen. Lena Taylor (D)