Since 1999, 19 Syrian refugees have come to Colorado, including five in 2015 under a federal program that helps those fleeing violence in their home countries relocate to the United States.

That Department of Homeland Security program has come under intense scrutiny this week as governors across the nation have spoken out against allowing Syrian refugees into their communities. Prompted by initial reports that one of the terrorists involved in last week’s Paris attacks posed as a Syrian refugee, members of Congress are also attempting to shut down the Syrian refugee program.

According to data from the Colorado Refugee Services Program, 2,287 refugees came to Colorado in 2014, predominately from the war-torn countries of Burma, Somalia and Iraq. Only two were from Syria.

Those numbers are likely to increase next year.

President Barack Obama has created an additional 10,000 refugee slots for Syrians who are part of the exodus of almost 4 million people that is overwhelming Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt and now spilling into Greece and Western Europe.

Senior officials with the U.S. Department of State said of the 2,500 Syrian refugees admitted to America, half are children, a quarter are adults over 60 and fewer than 2 percent are military-aged men.

Colorado receives millions in federal funds for refugee services, 95 percent of which is passed through the state to organizations that provide refugees with a cash stipend, housing, job training, English language lessons, an introduction to American culture and a support system.

“The most recent Syrian refugees – five of them – are engaged and contributing to our communities,” said Alicia Caldwell, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Human Services, which oversees the refugee services program. “They comprise two households, and the heads of each of those households is employed.”

It was not clear where the refugees live in Colorado.

Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, said the process for vetting Syrian refugees must be as “stringent” as possible and he has pledged to work with Homeland Security to ensure that is the case.

“Many of these families are families of people that exemplify American values, oppose the factions in Syria and really are our allies, and were we to turn our backs on them, I think there is a valid question of what long-term damage that would do,” Hickenlooper said. “We are in a war. There are not easy choices here. No matter what we do there is going to be risks involved.”

Senate President Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs, said the public concern is justified and people should be skeptical that the U.S. can ensure that Syrian refugees don’t pose a threat.

“We’re being asked to trust the same government that has a pretty bad record in a lot of areas,” Cadman said. “The same government that can’t even complete a veterans hospital in our back yard. The same government that just polluted our Animas River. … The same government that the president said under his insurance plan you can keep both your doctor and your insurance, of which, neither were true.”

Cadman said there’s a difference between Syria and other war-torn countries because it is one of three countries labeled by the state department as a “State Sponsor of Terrorism.” The others are Sudan and Iran. Cuba was on that list until May.

Hickenlooper, as well as senior officials with Homeland Security, described a rigorous 18- to 24-month vetting process for Syrian refugees.

Displaced individuals first must prove they are unable to return home because of a fear of persecution to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Once classified as a refugee, the United States considers applicants who are referred by the U.N., a U.S. Embassy or other non-governmental organizations providing relief work.

Here’s where things get tricky: Many refugees come from impoverished nations and never had or left their homes without documentation to allow for a background screening or ensure a proper identification.

Congressman Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs, is urging the State Department to immediately halt the admissions of refugees from Syria and Iraq into America. He has co-sponsored legislation that would stop funding to refugee resettlement programs like the one in Colorado – which receives about $13 million a year from the federal government.

“The dangers presented by ISIS and the inadequate strategy and leadership coming from President Obama’s demand that the people’s representatives in Congress step forward with plans and policies to protect this nation, and that is exactly what we’re doing,” he said.

Senior officials with Homeland Security told the media on Monday that Iraqis and Syrians tend to be “a very, very heavily documented population.”

While documents are a key part of the process, Homeland Security also conducts in-person interviews and runs fingerprints and names through a variety of databases including a biometric screening based off of appearance.

Refugees land in the United States through one of five airports where Customs and Border Protection officers review documentation and conduct additional security checks.

The refugees are then officially assigned to a refugee relocation services program like the one in Colorado.

In Colorado, the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service and the African Community Center settle refugees into their new homes and begin the process of integrating them into the community.

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Contact Megan Schrader: 286-0644

Twitter @CapitolSchrader

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. (The Gazette/Jerilee Bennett)