In the season finale of his now-indispensable political satire program Last Week Tonight, John Oliver unleashed another hilarious fact assault on the rampant metastasizing stupidity of our time, lasering in on right-wing politicians who advocate turning away refugees in the wake of the Paris attacks. Pointing to one study showing that of the 784,000 refugees admitted into the U.S. since Sept. 11, 2001, only three refugees have been arrested for planning terrorist activities, Oliver argued that the ratio of terrorist refugees to non-terrorist refugees is 1:261,000.
"As reasonable adults, we accept tiny amounts of risk baked into our everyday lives," Oliver said. "We drive cars despite knowing around 30,000 of us die in them each year. We go swimming despite the fact 10 people a day die from drowning. Twenty Americans every year are killed by cows, but no one is saying we should expel all cows from the country!"
The segment also goes into granular detail about the long and rigorous screening process that refugees are required to go through. After rattling off a breathtaking list of steps refugees take before even getting near a plane to come to the U.S., Oliver concludes the risk of terrorism at the hands of refugees has been wildly exaggerated by politicians. "This process typically takes 18 to 24 months once you’ve been referred to the UN by the United States," Oliver said. "This is the most rigorous vetting anyone has to face before entering this country. No terrorist in their right mind would choose this path when the visa process requires far less effort."
