Refugee Agency Defies Texas Order To Bar Syrians Despite Legal Threat

The letter noted that the committee “insists on resettling certain refugees from Syria in the near future” and pointed to comments made by the FBI Director James Comey to Congress regarding the difficulty of conducting security checks.

“In a letter to Gov. Bill Haslam and other governors, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough defended the refugee vetting process as ‘extraordinarily thorough and comprehensive.’ But McDonough said the administration would be willing to work through the National Governors Association to set up a new system to provide governors with more information about the refugees in their states”.

The White House on Monday said that it would communicate more frequently with governors about Syrian refugees resettled in their states. There are thousands more in the pipeline waiting to come to the U.S.

“It’s much easier for ISIS to send people from anywhere to the United States with a European passport for example”, said Feldmann, associate professor of political science at the University of Illinois Chicago.

Although Texas and other states argued they can veto the Syrian refugee relocation, President Barack Obama’s administration said their decision would violate federal laws.

It will only include the refugees’ rough age and gender.

The White House is proposing to offer governors individualized reports about refugees in their states. “We do plan to continue with the program, but we want to work with the governor to do our piece to persuade him of the integrity of the program and let him know why these refugees are coming here”. Texas has housed 180 Syrian refugees since the civil war in Syria began in 2011-considerably more than its neighbor state Louisiana, which has housed only 14.

Governors do, however, have some control over the purse strings that make refugee resettlement possible.

The resettlement of Syrian refugees in the US has been under increased scrutiny following the November 13 Islamic State terrorist attacks in Paris.

But a state official, speaking on background, said that lawyers for the state believe they are on firm ground threatening a contract termination and potential legal action.

One possible reason for this is that most refugees considered for resettlement in the US are first referred by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) – but according to Christian relief groups Christians flying the conflict are often afraid to register with the U.N. and generally avoid U.N. refugee camps because they are targeted there too.

Faez, a Syrian refugee who spoke some English, confirmed to the Star-Telegram that family members who are in Jordan are scheduled to arrive in Texas this week.

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.

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”.