Pence: White House Assurances on Refugees Don’t Go Far Enough

The controversy over Syrian refugees and where they will be placed is blowing the lid off the federal government’s refugee resettlement program as governors are learning just how secretive this program really is.

A three-generation family fleeing civil war in Syria may find themselves the first ones caught in the showdown between Texas officials, who want to block their arrival, and the federal government and nonprofit groups that assist refugees.

The Obama administration has told officials across the country that states do not have the legal authority to refuse to accept Syrian refugees.

In the aftermath of the November 13 terror attacks in Paris, the House voted overwhelmingly to erect high hurdles for resettling Syrian and Iraqi refugees in the United States. Elissa Steglich of the University of Texas School of Law Immigration Clinic says that, even if the state ends its contracts with refugee agencies, the resettlement could legitimately continue. In a November 25 letter, which you can read here, Chris Traylor, executive commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, threatened to cut off state funding to the Dallas branch of the International Rescue Committee if they don’t comply with the Governor’s directive.

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker initially joined in this chorus of opposition, saying, “No, I’m not interested in accepting refugees from Syria”, but later walked back his comments and refused to sign on to the GOP letter to President Obama.

The IRC, however, said it will continue its federal obligation of helping all refugees regardless of where they came from.

Services to help refugees acclimate to life in the United States could be jeapordized in states where governors block Syrians, according to a letter from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The bipartisan group of former officials said they opposed the legislation, arguing that the vetting of refugees is robust and thorough. “Massachusetts has a role in welcoming refugees into the commonwealth”, he said through a spokeswoman. Ted Cruz expressed concern that terrorists could pose as refugees and gain entry into the United States. “Our previous governor, Gov. Mitch Daniels, is of Syrian descent; he was one of Bush’s few Arab advisers”.

Since 1990, the United Nations-sponsored refugee program has sent more than 3 million refugees to the US, at least half of them from Muslim-dominated countries.

Similar letters are expected to be sent to any refugee resettlement group that takes a similar position against Gov. Greg Abbott. The top receiving states this fiscal year has been California (53), Arizona (42), Pennsylvania (40), Kentucky (38), OH (37), Texas (35), Florida (31), and MI (30).

‘Apart from swimming the Atlantic Ocean, the refugee resettlement program is the most hard way to enter the United States’.

Earnest said refugees are the “most rigorously screened class of travelers” and added that the administration, in consultation with governors from both parties, agreed to provide more frequent updates on refugees who are resettled in their states, as well as increased information on security precautions.