Secretary of State John Kerry announced the United States will admit an additional 100,000 refugees in the next two years. He said the U.S. will accept 85,000 refugees from around the world next year and increase that total to close to 100,000 in 2017.

The news report said that many, though not all, of the additional refugees would be from Syria, with the others coming from “strife-torn” areas of Africa.

When asked by some why the U.S. could not take more, in light of the hundreds of thousands fleeing into Germany, Austria, Italy and other European countries, the secretary of state blamed a lack of money made available by the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress, and added that the U.S. cannot take shortcuts on security checks and, “We’re doing what we know we can manage immediately.”

News reports also noted several Obama administration officials had supported an increase to 100,000 Syrian refugees.

It is good to learn of Kerry’s concern for protecting this nation’s borders and making sure there are no shortcuts on security checks.

Apparently, the efforts to enforce strict security checks on those fleeing Syria are not, and were not, in force when dealing with the tens of thousands of migrants or refugees who have crossed the U.S. border with Mexico. Critics of the Obama-Kerry policy relative to refugees or migrants question the degree of security that is exerted in dealing with the masses coming from Mexico or those from Europe. Is there any reason for Americans to feel confident and comfortable that no foreign terrorists are among the thousands from around the world who now have an open door into the U.S.? Kerry assures there will be extensive background checks and no shortcuts or bypassing of counterterrorism laws.

Can Kerry make this same reassuring confidence-building claim relative to the millions of illegals currently living in the U.S.?