SALT LAKE CITY — Refugees, Syrian or otherwise, are welcome in Utah — but they'll have an extra layer of security once they're here, the Utah Department of Public Safety announced Monday.

As part of the changes, officials from the State Bureau of Investigation will meet with refugees once they arrive in Utah to offer support and keep tabs on potential criminal activity, according to Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Keith Squires.

"They're from vulnerable communities and populations that sometimes may be susceptible to the influences of criminal or terrorist efforts to get them to do things, so by having that regular interaction, it opens up the dialogue," Squires said.

The recommendations are the result of three weeks of investigation into the federal government's vetting process for refugees. Gov. Gary Herbert ordered public safety officials to "immediately re-evaluate" the security process for refugees last month in light of the terrorist attacks in Paris.

On Monday, Herbert called the department's recommendations "a common-sense step in the right direction."

"We need a consistent federal policy and screening protocol that we can all have confidence in," he said in a statement.

Utah is home to about 60,000 refugees and takes in approximately 1,100 every year, the vast majority from Iraq and Somalia. Refugees from more than a dozen countries now live in Salt Lake City.

Squires said State Bureau of Investigation officials will work with Utah's Department of Workforce Services and local refugee resettlement agencies to meet with all incoming refugees, not just those from Syria.

He said the change is ultimately meant to provide more resources to refugees. State Bureau of Investigation officials can help refugees with anything from clarifying traffic laws to explaining law enforcement rules.

"I think there's value in them understanding what their background is when they come into the country and doing it more on an individual basis rather than a blanket assumption of what their needs are or what their culture is," Squires said.

Catholic Community Services happy with outcome

Danielle Stamos, a spokeswoman for Catholic Community Services of Utah, one of two resettlement agencies in the state, said the agency was "really happy" with the outcome.

Stamos said she believes investigators will be respectful to refugees.

Most of the calls for Syrian refugees to be banned were "based out of fear," she said. "But it was a great opportunity for us to educate and raise awareness to the public at large about who refugees are."

In the aftermath of the Paris attacks, speculation that one of the attackers had sneaked into Europe with the flow of migrants triggered more than half the nation's governors to announce they would block the resettlement of more Syrian refugees.

Concerns about vetting process

Herbert said at the time he had concerns about the refugee vetting process, which is conducted by the federal government.

Others said the process, which usually takes at least two years, is already one of the most stringent screening procedures in the world.

Public safety officials met with representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Department of State and determined the federal vetting process was "very detailed, very layered," according to Squires.

He said federal officials have "challenges" with refugees from certain countries such as Syria, which lack rich databases.

But "there's nothing more that I can check as far as databases," Squires said. "I feel that that's ultimately the responsibility of the federal agencies. What we can do is look at enhancing security and assistance once those individuals do reach our state."

What's next?

Squires said he hopes to have an initial phase of the program in place in the next few weeks.

The debate over refugees has continued in Washington, D.C., where the House passed legislation that would drastically curb the flow of Syrian and Iraqi refugees to the U.S. The bill would require the director of the FBI, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and the director of national intelligence to certify that each applicant is not a security threat.

President Barack Obama vowed to block the legislation, calling it a betrayal of "our deepest values." He also repeated his promise to resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees.

Herbert, in his statement Monday, said it was unfortunate the president "threatened to veto this critical piece of legislation."

Until the issue is resolved, Stamos said resettlement agencies have been left playing "a waiting game." About 100-150 more refugees from Syria are expected to be resettled in Utah in the coming year.

"As of now, we're still planning on the 100 to 150 refugees, but who knows what Congress says," Stamos said. "We just hope that everyone takes into consideration the need that there is out there."

Email: dchen@deseretnews.com Twitter: DaphneChen_

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