Amid the ongoing debate about the USA accepting Syrian refugees, President Barack Obama argued providing refuge to some of the world’s most vulnerable people is an American tradition.
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The letter, from the Workplace of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), told state resettlement officers in that they may not deny advantages & services to refugees based mostly on their country of origin or faith.
Simon Henshaw, principal deputy assistant secretary of state for the U.S. State Department’s population, refugees and migration bureau, joined Morning Edition to explain more about the vetting process, as well as the relationship between the federal government and MA in the current resettlement system.
Last week, the Republican-led House of Representatives passed a bill that increases the restrictions on refugees from Iraq and Syria.
Seeking asylum is the first step for refugees but permanent resettlement is the only long-term solutions for normalcy of life and yet less than 1 percent of global refugees were referred for resettlement by the United Nations refugee agency in 2014.
“Keeping tabs on them actually has never been an issue though-any time we’ve raised any questions about any of our refugees we’ve been able to find them” Henshaw said, showing full confidence in how the program works.
On this uniquely American holiday, we also remember that so much of our greatness comes from our generosity. Critics see the refugees pouring into Europe and link them – with little or no evidence – to this month’s deadly attacks in Paris.
“The Health and Human Services Commission will continue to follow the directive of Gov. [Greg] Abbott, which calls for the state of Texas to not participate in the resettlement of Syrian refugees”, Bryan Black said.
Egypt, which accepted 127,000 of the 4.2 million Syrian refugees, also appears to be getting cold feet about accepting more. It is common sense – something the White House appears to lack.
The bill would limit the number of Syrian and Iraqi refugees admitted to the USA until increased security checks are in place.
Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees who is due to complete his 10-year tenure at the year-end, added: “Refugees are the victims of terrorism, and the refugee movements are the outcome of terrorism”.
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“Decisions concerning immigration and refugee resettlement are exclusively the province of the federal government, and attempts to pre-empt that authority violate both equal protection and civil rights laws and intrude on authority that is exclusively federal”, said ACLU of IN legal director Ken Falk IN a press release. “But it’s also a day to count our blessings and give back to others – a reminder that no matter our circumstances, all of us have something to be grateful for”, he said. He said they will “be able to stand tall and accept refugees across the country”.
