Casada set off a firestorm Tuesday when he told the Tennessean, “We need to activate the Tennessee National Guard and stop them [Syrian refugees] from coming in to the state by whatever means we can”, Casada told the Tennessean on Tuesday.
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“We respectfully and urgently request that you suspend all efforts to settle any Syrian Refugees in Tennessee until the U.S. Department of Homeland Security completes a full review of security clearances and procedures”, Butt said in her letter to Haslam. “I’m not anxious about what a bureaucrat in D.C. or an un-elected judge thinks…”
Casada was asked to elaborate on his proposal, and whether Tennessee had the authority to detain refugees.
Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey and House Speaker Beth Harwell issued a joint statement calling on Tennessee’s federal representatives to “place an immediate moratorium on refugees entering the United States, specifically Tennessee”.
He said the Guard should “politely” take the Syrian refugees already in the state to federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement centers and tell the officials there, “They’re not coming to Tennessee, they’re yours”. While most prominent GOP lawmakers seem to be using the Paris attacks and anti-refugee sentiment as rhetorical posturing, Casada presents a plan that is both terrifying and ridiculous in equal measure.
Tennessee is one of twelve states where the 1984 Wilson Fish Act allows the State Department to run the resettlement of refugees through contractors with virtually no input from the State Government.
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Casada’s is by far the most extreme. “But giving in to fear, closing the borders and abandoning our allies is un-American, and ultimately will make our situation even more unsafe”.
