Paris Attack: Mexico Hesitates on New Syrian Refugee Program Due to Multiple Terrorist Bombings

Last week's terrorist attacks in Paris could impede Mexico's efforts to allow Syrian refugees in the country.

Mexicans have started to petition the Mexican government to let 10,000 Syrian refugees into the nation. Even though the humanitarian efforts was moved forward by Mexico's elite, the move could vanish "as citizens of that country continue to wake up to the reality that Islamic terrorists could disguise themselves as refugees, much like they at least two of the Paris terrorists did when entering through Greece," according to Breitbart.

In September, Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu announced that it will offer help to Syrian refugees.

"We are paying attention to the crisis, and we are mulling the possibility of receiving at one point some refugees, but we maintain our conviction that dialogue, peace and protection of people's rights in situation of asylum must prevail," she said, as quoted by teleSur. "We have insisted on this at various international events."

Project Habasha, a Mexican non-profit organization, has been doing well in the early stages of bringing up to 30 Syrian college students to Mexico, Breitbart further reported. The organization is hosting Syrian students who are pursuing higher education studies, and is providing them a full scholarship, insurance, and a monthly living stipend. It remains to be seen whether the Paris attacks will affect Project Habasha's endeavors.

Ruiz Massieu also said that Mexico has provided resources to international organizations to help the refugees at camps in Jordan and Lebanon. However, she did not give the exact amount of Mexico's contribution to combat the refugee crisis.

"Mexico has sent money via the U.N. refugee agency and the UNICEF and the International Red Cross to ensure that the refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon have the proper conditions to house refugees," said Ruiz Massieu, as reported by teleSur.

She continued, "Mexico has a long tradition of opening its doors to refugees. We did it during the Franco era in Spain, during the dictatorships in South America, and we did it most recently in 2010 when we received Haitians displaced by the earthquake."

Letting Syrian refugees in Mexico is raising concerns about the country's lack of legitimate immigration enforcement and prevalent corruption, the news outlet added. The lack of enforcement makes it hard to know the identity of an individual entering Mexico.

The nation, which has a border separating it from the U.S., can also be used by terrorists to enter illegally through the open areas of the Texas and Arizona border. For decades, Mexico is unsuccessful in stopping the huge flow of illegal immigrants that travel from Central and South America towards the U.S., Breitbart noted.