US Senator Recommends Syrian Refugees Submit to DNA Testing

US Senator Ron Johnson said that DNA testing of Syrian refugees coming to the United States could be helpful.

NEW YORK (Sputnik) — Syrian refugees who are seeking asylum with relatives in the United States should submit to DNA testing, US Senator Ron Johnson said during a Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee hearing on Thursday.

"If we set as a number one criteria, family members, we can do DNA testing," Johnson said. "That would certainly be, I think, helpful."

Johnson’s comments came as lawmakers discussed various methods to prevent potential Islamic State terrorists from entering the United States.

Johnson also recommended that Syrians living in the United States should be financially responsible for their own relatives.

Syria has been in a state of civil war since March 2011. The Syrian Army has been fighting the so-called "moderate" opposition factions as well as Islamist extremist groups, including the Islamic State and the Nusra Front.

More than 250,000 people have been killed in the civil war in Syria and 11 million have been displaced. Of those, four million Syrians are estimated to have fled to neighboring countries and to Europe.

On September 20, Secretary of State John Kerry announced the United States will allow up to 100,000 refugees by fiscal year 2017.