More than 200 Syrian refugees reside in Texas, and that number won’t increase if Gov. Greg Abbott remains true to his response following the recent terrorist attacks in Paris.
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The US House of Representatives could vote as early as Thursday on resolution 4038, which aims to block administration plans to resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees in the coming year. The call was coordinated with the National Governors Association in an effort to educate governors on the process of bringing foreign refugees into the country, and address their concerns on the topic.
Thirteen governors, who were not identified by the White House, asked questions and Obama Chief of Staff Denis McDonough promised to maintain open communications with state leaders, in part through the National Governors Association. “While I understand the issue of allowing refugees into our country and our state lands exclusively with the federal government, I will remain focused on making sure the vetting process we were briefed on today remains the most stringent refugee vetting process in the world”.
Washington had planned to locate up 425 Syrian refugees to Florida. Some are also trying to figure out how Texas can keep those refugees out of the state.
A non-governmental resettlement agency had planned to send the family of three, selected from a United Nations refugee camp in the Middle East and vetted by U.S. security agencies, to start a new life in Indianapolis.
Between October 1, 2011 and November 14 of this year, the United States admitted 2,159 Syrian refugees, according to the State Department.
Gov. Pete Ricketts was among the governors who participated Tuesday.
“If the governor tells the state refugee coordinators not to cooperate with the federal government, what that does is it makes it very hard for the federal government to settle refugees inside a state”, Fabrizio said.
Obama said refugees are screened for 18 to 24 months before being cleared to enter the United States, with the intelligence community fully vetting applicants. While most governors are opposed to letting them into their states, they can’t legally stop them.
He also said in comments November 17 that the legislation would call for a better security system so that it can be verified whether refugees pose a security threat before a decision is made to allow them to enter the United States.
“The Administration’s highest priority is to ensure the safety and security of the American people”, the White House said Wednesday.
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Americans are split on the idea of sending USA troops to Iraq or Syria to combat the Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIL or ISIS), with 44 percent believing we should send ground forces and 45 percent disagreeing.
