A refugee is defined as any person who has fled his or her home country and is unable or unwilling to return because of fear of persecution on the basis of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.
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McDonough, the White House chief of staff, proposed a new notification system in a letter to Christie on Monday that was obtained by The Record.
“The Governor has advised me that his foremost obligation is to keep citizens safe”, Traylor wrote.
According to Traylor, the IRC’s vocal support for resettling Syrian refugees in Texas is a violation of federal law.
Unlike most of his GOP colleagues, Herbert said he wouldn’t close the door to Syrian refugees seeking to come to Utah, though he added that he wants the state’s Department of Public Safety to review the security checks used to vet those seeking asylum.
The White House on Monday offered Gov. Andrew Cuomo detailed updates on in-state refugee resettlement amid pushback by other governors to the administration’s goal of resettling 10,000 Syrian refugees through September 2016.
Upon requests from individual governors through the Washington-based National Governors Association, the State Department from now on will provide reports on refugee resettlement in individual states, as well as give requesting governors a monthly breakdown of refugees by nationality, age range and gender.
“Given the current climate around the globe”, the conservative leaders write, “a refugee population so large, fleeing a war-torn region, with ample evidence that a group of Syrian refugees is much more likely to contain Islamic Extremists bent on violence in America creating a completely unsecure, dangerous, and untenable situation for the American people”. Ted Cruz expressed concern that terrorists could pose as refugees and gain entry into the United States. Officials from other agencies also would have to declare that each refugee is not a security threat.
The letter, however, was unlikely to satisfy other governors who, in several cases, suggested they would instruct key agencies and departments in their states not to work with the resettlement program or oppose them outright, though it was unclear what practical effect those instructions would have. Last month – the first of the new fiscal year – 21 refugees arrived.
“Apparently, they are scared of widows and orphans coming into the United States of America”, the president said. Freshman Rep. Brian Babin is spearheading an effort to attach his bill, which would block federal funding for refugees from the Middle East and North Africa until authorities can determine the refugee program won’t serve as a “Trojan horse” for terrorists. In contrast, the French government announced its plan to welcome 30,000 refugees next year, more than initially stated. In a bill that still needs Senate approval, the House voted November 19 to suspend the Syrian resettlement program for a year and then make the FBI sign off on the background investigation of every refugee from Syria and Iraq.
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A Texas official has written to a humanitarian aid group, threatening to sue if it continued to help Syrians move to the state. A majority of Texas refugee agencies are located in self-appointed sanctuary cities.
