President Obama Mocks Republicans on Refugee Stance

“We can be compassionate and we can also be safe”, Ryan said Wednesday.

More than half of the nation’s governors, Republicans and Democrats, have taken the same public stance, even though legal experts raise doubts about its constitutionality.

There are nine different nonprofit groups, six of them faith-based, that help refugees settle in the U.S. Volunteers with the groups help refugees find homes, furniture, school supplies and jobs.

The Obama administration was responding to the fact that several dozen states, nearly all of them Republican-controlled, had announced their opposition to taking in refugees claiming security concerns after last Friday’s attacks in Paris that killed 129 people and wounded more than 350.

Top staff from the White House, Department of Homeland Security and the State Department fielded questions from the governors for 90 minutes and reassured them that they were doing the most thorough vetting possible of Syrian refugees, according to brief notes from the call provided by the White House. On average, officials say it’s 18 to 24 months before a refugee is approved for admission to the U.S.

On Tuesday, Abbott directed the Health Commission to amend the state’s Refugee Resettlement State Plan.

Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan says he is disheartened by Governor Kasich and other leaders, saying they lack courage needed to stick to American values. They say they’ve tried to strike a balance in the bill.

While the final ruling has not been made, officials say it appears they can’t actually block refugees who come into the country through the resettlement program, but they can make it hard for the non-profit organisations doing the legwork.

President Obama defended his efforts to resettle Syrian refugees in the United States Wednesday, condemning criticism from many GOP presidential candidates as “political posturing”.

Minnesota House Speaker Kurt Daudt, R-Crown, on Monday asked for confirmation that federal authorities have a workable plan in place to screen terrorists out of refugees.

Every year, CSS takes in about 120 refugees from countries like Somalia, Sudan and Iraq.

Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Louisiana joined a chorus of critics lambasting Jindal’s executive order banning Syrian refugees from Louisiana. Without being able to verify who these Syrian refugees are or who they have associated with, we have no way of really determining who among them may or may not be part of ISIS.