In his letter to the International Rescue Committee, Traylor wrote: “Failure by your organization to cooperate with the State of Texas as required by federal law may result in the termination of your contract with the state and other legal action”.
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This statement is in contrast to those of 31 governors across the country, who fear that admitting refugees will lead to attacks, similar to the ones in Paris on November 13. In a statement, the organization said “it is important not to conflate terrorists with the Syrian refugees who are seeking sanctuary in the United States”. So his announcement about Syrian refugees surprised many and caused criticism in his home state.
The group has resettled eight Syrian refugees in Texas, including a man identified only by his first name, Faez.
The letter from the federal resettlement office said would-be refugees “are subject to the highest level of security checks of any category of traveler to the United States”.
The White House also offered to have the State Department provide monthly reports on a password-protected website documenting the total number of refugees resettled in any particular state, including breakdowns by nationality, age and gender.
Bright said Wednesday he’s working with legislative staff to see if he too can introduce legislation that prevents all refugees from settling in SC.
The sticking point between Rauner and the White House over Syrian refugees fleeing a civil war remains whether the federal government will give IL information about them before their arrival. A little more than 100 Syrian refugees have been relocated to the state this year. The bill, now before the US Senate, creates almost insurmountable procedural obstacles for resettling refugees from Syria and Iraq in the US, Human Rights Watch said.
The hard-line talk puzzles Rep. James Smith, D-Columbia, a captain in the Army National Guard, partly because of how long it takes to be granted refugee status and be admitted to the United States.
He said the departments of State, Health and Human Services and Homeland Security were prepared to work with the governors’ association to provide more information on the vetting the resettlement process “and to discuss options for enhanced collaboration”.
In a letter to the group’s Dallas chapter, Mr. Traylor warned the IRC that he’s ready to take legal action if the group continues to act against the wishes of the state. By contrast, 636 Iraqi refugees and 498 Somali refugees have resettled in OR in that same period, according to data from the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
“By making the Syrian refugees the enemy, we are playing into their hands”, she added, referring to the Islamic State group.
The Refugee Assistance Program helped resettle 2,214 refugees in Nevada in the 2015 fiscal year, Carmine said.
Despite the rhetoric, SC appears to be an unlikely destination for Syrian refugees, unlike states like MI and New Jersey that have large Muslim communities.
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Albright, who was 11 years old when she and her family arrived in the US after fleeing the Nazis in Czechoslovakia 67 years ago, said closing off America to refugees is contrary to American values.
