White House to Texas: Our Refugee Vetting System is Strong

“States may not deny [Office of Refugee Resettlement]-funded benefits and services to refugees based on a refugee’s country of origin or religious affiliation”, Robert Carey, director of the office, wrote in the statement.

The federal government shot a warning to state resettlement officials, telling them they do not have the authority to deny the entry of Syrian refugees.

The letter, dated November 20, said that the majority of Syrian refugees accepted by the US are among the most vulnerable-families, torture victims, and children-who are also the most frequent victims of ISIS and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

However a spokesman for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which oversees refugee resettlement in the state, said the letter will not change the state’s position of blocking Syrian refugees. The bill requires complete background checks of each refugee from Iraq or Syria before they are frequently admitted in to the US & certification in that each one doesn’t pose a threat.

“If the president does move forward on his plans to take in at least 10,000 Syrian refugees, he would be doing so without the American public’s support”, the survey reads. “The federal government continues to keep Louisiana in the dark regarding potential plans to attempt to resettle Syrian refugees in Louisiana”. And before approval, all applicants from Syria, just like refugees from any nation worldwide seeking refuge in the US, are subjected to this rigorous scrutiny and an intensive screening process that takes, on average, between 18 and 24 months.

But a letter from the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement claims that Abbott doesn’t have the power to make that call, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The process for selecting and screening refugees before resettlement in the United States has drawn increased scrutiny since the terrorist attacks in Paris. “Wyoming does not have a refugee resettlement program”.

Separately, Sandy Khabbazeh, 26, a refugee who fled Aleppo in September 2014 and now lives in Oakland, New Jersey, described the current US vetting process for refugees as extensive.

President Obama threatened to veto the bill if it reaches his desk commenting on Twitter, “slamming the door in the face of refugees would betray our deepest values”.

Rep. Smith responded during the hearing, saying, “as I say, both the profile and the motive of terrorist organizations, and your admission that there is some risk involved, to me would persuade the administration to go slow, rather than fast, when it comes to admitting individuals who might do us harm”.

Meanwhile the White House and notable Democrats are trying to slow it down.

The American Civil Liberties Union on Monday sued Indiana Governor Mike Pence over his refusal to allow refugees fleeing the almost 5-year-old civil war to resettle in his state.

The world finally began paying attention to the refugee crisis when the media published images of a three year-old Syrian refugee washed up dead on a Turkish beach.