State Health Commission Threatens to Sue Refugee Resettlement Groups

The United States Senate should reject a bill that would place unnecessary and burdensome restrictions on resettlement of Syrian and Iraqi refugees in the US, Human Rights Watch said today.

Quam said Monday’s letter was “directly” in response to the governors’ request for more detailed and current information on refugees.

That letter to all governors by Secretary of State John Kerry and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson emphasized how thorough the vetting is and that the government is prioritizing “the most vulnerable of Syrian refugees” for resettlement.

The new system comes as 31 governors have sought to block President Obama from placing Syrian refugees in their states following the Paris attacks linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Nirenberg did not specifically comment on the expected influx of Syrian refugees, but a local assistance agency said they’re coming and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott should back off his objections.

“Failure by your organization to cooperate with the state of Texas as required by federal law may result in the termination of your contract with the state and other legal action”, Traylor stated in a letter to 19 refugee agencies.

“Any state with such a policy would not be in compliance with the State Plan requirements, applicable statutes, and their own assurances, and could be subject to enforcement action”, the letter said.

Texas could potentially cut off funding from groups, Rosenthal says.

McDonough wrote that the State Department will provide more “consistent and official” communications about resettling Syrian refugees, including reports on the total number of refugees – but not their names – broken down by nationality, age range and gender.

“Your agency insists on resettling certain refugees from Syria in the near future”, Traylor wrote. The committee’s answer was yes; the Dallas office plans to welcome several families of Syrian refugees over the course of the next couple weeks, she said. It is important to underscore that individuals seeking resettlement as refugees are among the most carefully vetted people to enter our country.

The federal Office of Refugee Resettlement last week warned Abbott and other governors that they do not have the power to reject Syrian refugees, telling them they would be breaking the law if they denied benefits or services to refugees based on their country of origin or religion.

For the threats of a lawsuit against refugee resettlement agencies, Rosenthal says it is possible they could end up in court.

“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.

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which is making these threats, has contracts with federal and state government.

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.