Obama on Thanksgiving urges generosity to Syrian refugees

Program chief Robert Carey said that states may not deny OPR-funded benefits and services based on a refugee’s country of origin or religious affiliation.

“Accordingly, states may not categorically deny ORR-funded benefits and services to Syrian refugees”, the letter said.

Spokesman for the Texas commission Bryan Black said the state will continue to follow the instructions of governor Greg Abbott, who has called for Texas to withdraw from participation in the resettlement of Syrian refugees. “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, including suspension or termination”.

In the House, lawmakers have voted overwhelmingly to erect higher hurdles for Syrian and Iraqi refugees. The numbers that have made it to the US are microscopic in comparison: Some 2,200 Syrian refugees have been allowed in the USA over the last four years and the Obama administration committed to allowing another 10,000 to resettle in the country before the Paris attacks spooked public opinion and galvanized G.O.P. presidential candidates.

The letter from the federal resettlement office said would-be refugees “are subject to the highest level of security checks of any category of traveler to the United States”. A spokesman for Abbott declined to comment.

“Decisions concerning immigration and refugee resettlement are exclusively the province of the federal government, and attempts to pre-empt that authority violate both equal protection and civil rights laws and intrude on authority that is exclusively federal”, said ACLU of IN legal director Ken Falk IN a press release.

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

The House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill on November 19 that would require the FBI director to certify a background investigation for each potential refugee from Syria or Iraq, and administration officials including the Department of Homeland Security secretary must attest that each potential refugee is not a security threat to the U.S.

However, under federal law, state governors have little power to block their entry into the country or interfere with federal resettlement programs.