The federal government on Wednesday informed refugee resettlement agencies in Texas and across the country that states do not have the authority to refuse to accept Syrians.
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“Any state with such a policy would not be in compliance with the State Plan requirements, applicable statutes, and their own assurances, and could be subject to enforcement action, including suspension and termination”, the letter stated.
In his address, the president quoted from letters that he has received from Americans welcoming Syrian refugees.
More than half of the nation’s governors have pledged not to allow Syrian refugees into their states following the wave of terror attacks that hit Paris earlier in the month, which left 130 dead and hundreds more injured.
“ORR is aware that state and local leaders, including some governors, have expressed concern about the resettlement of Syrian refugees in their states. What makes America America is that we offer that chance”, President Obama said in his Thanksgiving address.
The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), a non-profit group whose mission is to publicize “consequences of legal and illegal immigration” into the United States, says Obama’s vetting procedures have several vulnerabilities.
US President Barack Obama Thursday urged Americans to open their hearts to refugees in his Thanksgiving message to the nation, likening them to the pilgrims the holiday celebrates.
Meriden said the Syrian American Council has also been connecting people who want to help Syrian refugees to organizations hired by the federal government to resettle the new arrivals.
The White House in September announced a program under which 10,000 Syrian refugees will be admitted to US over the next year.
Refugees go through “the most intensive security screening of any travelers to the United States”, according to Simon Henshaw, a State Department official involved in refugee and migration issues. “The risks posed to our national security by admitting tens of thousands of refugees from a war-torn region that is now the global hotbed for terrorist activity are very real … all it takes is one ISIS terrorist posing as an asylum seeker to come to the United States and inflict harm”.
The Hill reports that the warning letter drew the ire of Virginia congressman Bob Goodlatte, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, who released a statement accusing the Obama administration of being “hypocritical”.
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The legislation does not end the program, nor does it impose a religious test – both claims Mr. Obama has hinted – but instead requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation director, the homeland security secretary and the country’s intelligence chief to sign off on each refugee.
