Obama Administration: States Can’t Legally Block Refugees

President Barack Obama urged Americans to show generosity to Syrian refugees in a Thanksgiving message on Thursday, reminding them that the Pilgrims who came to America in 1620 were themselves fleeing persecution.

“We decline anybody that has any sort of far connection to anything we think might be questionable” Henshaw told KTSA News, adding “No group of people enter the United States under more scrutiny than those entering our refugee program”.

The process for selecting and screening refugees before resettlement in the United States has drawn increased scrutiny since the terrorist attacks in Paris. We must not “close our hearts to the victims of such violence”, the president said.

The ORR letter attempted to assure concerned governors by stating that all refugees will be subject to the “highest level” of security checks, which would involve a “multi-layered and intensive screening and vetting process”. “We work with them in picking up a refugee family at the airport, or providing them with a meal, or even inviting a family [to join them] for the holidays”.

There are no Syrian refugees in Vermont, but a small number are expected. As Republican leaders in Congress prepare to block Syrian refugees from the United States, one legislator proposed requiring three national security chiefs to certify personally that each refugee admitted from Iraq or Syria is not a threat.

“And as president, I’m thankful that I get to see the best of America every day – the courage of our troops and veterans, the resilience of our families, and the basic goodness of the ordinary people who call this country”, he said.

In a Fox News interview last week after the White House call, Texas Gov. Greg Abbot said “What the national intelligence leaders are telling us is that Syrian refugees could be embedded with those who are ISIS terrorists”. It is critical that public officials hear from their constituents NOW, including Catholics, as decisions are being made that could drastically impact the lives of Syrian refugees and refugee resettlement in the United States.

The bill’s backers say that if the Obama administration has really vetted all of the refugees as it says, such certification should be easy and will go a long way toward ensuring Americans that someone is directly responsible for the program. It is suspected that at least one of the attackers gained entry into France through the European refugee resettlement program.

For now, both debates remain in limbo; the Senate will deal with the House’s bill after legislators return from the current recess, and the president’s executive action is stuck in the courts.