The Texas state in the U.S. will sue agencies that fail to follow an order issued by Governor Greg Abbott to not accept more Syrian refugees, the media reported on Tuesday.
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He furthermore ordered the refugee resettlement arm of the state’s Health and Human Services Commission “to not participate in the resettlement of any Syrian refugees in the State of Texas”.
The same day the Dallas charity received the letter from the State of Texas, they also received a letter from Robert Carey, director of the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement.
Governors who oppose proceeding with the resettlement program were reacting largely to news that at least one of the terrorists involved in the Paris attacks had a Syrian passport.
Over the holiday weekend, refugee assistance groups in the state found themselves caught in a cross fire between state and federal officials concerning whether they can help new Syrian refugees.
“Many of your fellow organizations expressed a willingness to work with the state to identify alternative outcomes for refugees from Syria who might otherwise relocate to Texas”, THHSC executive commissioner Chris Traylor wrote to Dallas IRC executive director Donna Duvin in a letter obtained by the Times.
One family is expected to join relatives in Richardson within days. Kelly Ayotte, was the first Democratic governor to support suspending the refugees program until there are assurances that those seeking to enter the United States are properly vetted. “Even in those cases where refugees were arrested on terrorism-related charges, years and even decades often transpired between their entry into the United States and their involvement in terrorism”.
Texas is not backing down from its pledge to try to block Syrian refugees from its borders.
White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough said the State Department would provide governors with reports on the total number of refugees – but not their names – broken down by nationality, age range and gender.
States doing so could face suspension or termination from funding of resettlement services in their state, it said.
Scott’s spokesperson, Jeri Bustamante, said the office is reviewing the letter.
Earnest said refugees are the “most rigorously screened class of travelers” and added that the administration, in consultation with governors from both parties, agreed to provide more frequent updates on refugees who are resettled in their states, as well as increased information on security precautions.
“The threat to the US homeland from refugees has been relatively low”.
“And I urge you, as President, to halt your plans to allow Syrians to be resettled anywhere in the United States”. If they deny services to any group of refugees, states may risk losing resettlement funding altogether.
They said this will respond to governors’ concerns, but will also maintain refugees’ privacy.
Yet the Christian cohort among the Syrian refugees accepted into the US since the war began (2.3 percent) is considerably smaller than the proportion of Christians in the Syrian population – 10 percent, according to the CIA World Factbook.
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Federal officials say governors can not legally reject refugees.
