Syrian refugees become issue in Illinois Senate race

The State Department reports that 2,234 Syrian refugees have been screened and admitted to the USA since 2010, and that none have been arrested or removed from the country on terrorism charges.

While the federal government has clarified that governors do not have the authority to keep Syrian refugees from resettling in their states, the letter from Commissioner Traylor pointed back to federal law that says the resettlement organizations must cooperate with the state.

Obstinate agencies, Traylor concluded, could have their state contracts terminated or face “other legal action”.

Saccone and Mustio are two of several Republican state lawmakers who signed a letter asking Wolf to reconsider his position on Syrian refugees; they are also calling on the federal government to make the process of refugee acceptance and resettlement more transparent.

And yet, more are being resettled in Texas. Numerous refugees are women and children.

Groups supporting potential refugees fear the dueling letters will cause confusion. Both families have relatives in North Texas, the nonprofit said. They also offered to meet with Abbott.

“The policy that violates our Constitution and the rule of law – that’s exactly how I feel”, she said.

The Texas commission said other resettlement agencies had agreed to find alternative placement options for Syrians who would otherwise relocate to Texas. “Texas and other states don’t have veto power in this area”.

“States may not deny (Office of Refugee Resettlement)-funded benefits and services to refugees based on a refugee’s country of origin or religious affiliation.”

The federal Refugee Act of 1980 says resettlement agencies should work in close cooperation with state and local governments.

Texas has been incredibly generous. In 2016, that number is slated to increase to 85,000 and to 100,000 refugees in 2017. He says the difficulty of getting good information from within Syria means even the current 18-to-36 month refugee vetting process needs to be reviewed.

“Texas has been incredibly generous”, said Lucy Carrigan, spokeswoman for the national International Rescue Committee, based in NY.

Representative Mark Mustio (R-Allegheny) said Monday he doesn’t have a problem with refugees coming to Pennsylvania but wants to pause the process that brings them to the U.S. “The organization plans to “seek guidance on the ramifications” of federal and state requirements”, he said in a statement.

Those nine federal contractors include the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, the Episcopal Migration Ministries, the International Rescue Committee, Church World Service, World Relief, the Ethiopian Community Development Council, and the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants.

“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. “We continue to do some resettlement, but the cases are largely family reunifications”.