White House offers states more information on refugee resettlement

The Obama administration has planned to bring at least 10,000 Syrians into the United States this year.

After the terrorist attacks on Paris last month, Gov. Greg Abbott and the state agency that manages a refugee resettlement program ordered nonprofits to stop helping Syrians, citing potetntial threats to public safety.

“There was a real sense of frustration from all the governors that there is just a complete lack of transparency and communication coming from the federal government”, said one GOP state official who was on the conference call.

Much of that information is already publicly released, but the administration is promising to make it available in a more routine, customized format on a password-protected website. You agree that you are exclusively responsible for your communications and any content you provide.

Her spokesman, Matt McGrath, said Kirk’s ad “appeals exclusively to fear and the lowest common denominator”. Many are women and children and only about 2 percent are single men of combat age.

Robert Carey, director of HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), said in the November 25 letter that “states may not deny ORR-funded benefits and services to refugees based on a refugee’s country of origin or religious affiliation”.

But the federal government has a reputation for bypassing the states by working directly with private organizations.

“Typically that process takes over two years from the time a person applies for refugee status until they are notified of the ability to enter a country that is actually selected for them by the United Nations”, she said.

McDonough said the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will further brief governors on the process, and will discuss ways to improve communication at the next National Governors Association meeting.

In a letter obtained by Texas daily newspaper the Houston Chronicle, Chris Taylor, the Head of Texas’s Health and Human Services Commission, told the non-profit International Rescue Committee (IRC) that it would be in violation of its contract with the state if it did not comply with orders.

We don’t know whether Islamic State or other terrorist organizations are infiltrating refugees to gain entry to Europe or the United States.

“I think it’s better than 50-50 that we’re going to get one”, Norman Ornstein, a centrist scholar on politics and Congress at the American Enterprise Institute said of a shutdown.

Late last week, the state threatened to take legal action and terminate the contract of Duvin’s office, which resettles refugees on behalf of the US government. The ACLU filed suit on behalf of a resettlement group in Indiana. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) was also expected to unveil her own bipartisan bill to strengthen the program.

“We don’t believe the directive the governor put in place is necessarily enforceable”, said Erol Kekic, executive director of immigration and refugee programs for Church World Service. Scott and some two-dozen other governors have asked that the resettlement program be delayed until the refugees are vetted beyond current standards.