Perhaps the greatest question on the minds of Americans after the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris is whether or not the United States should accept the Syrian refugees fleeing war in their home country.

In the political realm, the question is essentially split down the middle. Conservatives say no and liberals say yes. The problem is much more complex, though, leading to weeks of debate and a possible White House veto against Congress in the future.

CNN recently reported the following from a few of the Republican presidential candidates. Donald Trump has been exaggerating the numbers: President Obama’s initial plan was to take in 10,000 refugees this upcoming year, but Trump has consistently been saying President Obama wants to take in 250,000. Ben Carson recently used a “rabid dog” metaphor when talking about possible terrorist refugees. Ted Cruz said the U.S. should only accept Christian refugees, not Muslim refugees. 31 governors have refused to allow refugees into their states.

These remarks led to backlash from the left, who, for the most part, collectively believe refugees should be taken in.

I have heard all of my friends’ opinions, whether in person or on social media and it seems every last person in the U.S. has a strong opinion on this issue.

I believe those who disagree with accepting refugees have every right to be wary. Our country does not want another major terror attack on our soil and with how things played out with the Paris attacks, it seems very stupid to bring in refugees.

I do not think this is the case, though.

The refugee screening process, according to CNN, is the most rigorous process to enter the United States. A refugee must undergo almost two years of screening by the United Nations and then they must undergo even more screening by the country they want to enter. Interviews, background checks, retina scans and fingerprinting are just a few of the requirements in the process.

It would take a refugee years to enter our country. To me, that does not even seem like they are a refugee. When I think of a refugee, I think of a person just showing up at a country’s doorstep with nothing and being taken in. This process seems more like the immigration process.

Also, none of the eight Paris terrorists were refugees. Most were born in Europe and raised there. Yes, one did have a Syrian passport, but it was a fake.

It would be easier for a terrorist to simply get a fake passport or tourist visa and enter the United States that way. Why would a terrorist go through the years of screening to enter the U.S. as a refugee when they could just enter illegally?

If a terrorist wanted to get into the U.S., they would find a way, and probably the easiest way. We should be more concerned about fake visas and illegal immigration as avenues for terrorists to enter our country rather than the refugee program.

I have yet to even mention the human aspect of this situation, in which thousands of refugees left their homes so they would not be bombed or shot in the Syrian war. Perhaps some Americans need to reread the words on the Statue of Liberty.

Accepting refugees cannot be equated to accepting terrorists. The process is too strict to allow that. Also, once the refugees come into our country, they would most likely be under pretty high security, possibly even segregation from American society.

And when it comes down to it, we need to realize that if a terrorist attack is going to happen, it will probably happen. ISIS has garnered a lot of power and influence and something tells me they would find smarter and easier ways to attack the United States.

We need to destroy ISIS, not send Syrian refugees back to their war-torn country to be destroyed. We can turn them away and say someone else needs to take care of them, but to me, that goes against everything this country was built upon.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer. They are not directly the opinions of The Slate, its staff or Shippensburg University as a whole. Concerns or letters to the editor can be sent to shipspeaks@gmail.com.

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