Syrian refugees welcomed by agencies despite states’ fight

Archbishop Joseph Tobin said he considered Gov. Mike Pence’s request not to bring the refugees to IN until the U.S. Congress has passed a new legislation on immigrants and refugees but he welcomed them anyway as helping refugees “is an essential part of our identity as Catholic Christians”.

“The (Texas) Commission has failed to show by competent evidence that any terrorists actually have infiltrated the refugee program, much less that these particular refugees are terrorists intent on causing harm”, U.S District Judge David Godbey said in his decision.

In denouncing the move, Pence pointed to the Paris terror attacks as rationale for keeping Syrians out of his state, which he said “involved a Syrian refugee as one of the attackers”.

“I have no intention of interfering with the ordinary administration of state government relative to people that are legally within the state of Indiana”, Pence said Tuesday. A previous attempt was dropped last week by Texas, one of about 30 states seeking to halt resettlements.

In a statement, the Indiana Democratic Party calls Pence’s policy a knee-jerk reaction that’s openly discriminatory.

Cruz said that if President Barack Obama wanted to send refugees to any state, his legislation would let its governor refuse to participate, “to conclude that the federal government has not done a sufficient job ensuring that the safety and security of the citizens of the state will be protected”. Dania and her family fled violence in Syria three and a half years ago and arrived in Sacramento in September after living in Jordan.

USA diplomats, meanwhile, are still processing resettlement applicants in Istanbul and Amman, Jordan, and have plans to begin the process in the Iraqi city of Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdish region.

“This week at least 21 Syrian refugees are scheduled to arrive in Texas, perhaps hundreds more anticipated to arrive in the next year”, says Cruz.

But none of that means Pence is backing off his claim that the state will stop participating in Syrian refugee resettlement, according to the statement. Abbott emphasized Tuesday the state’s lawsuit to block the further resettlement of Syrian refugees in Texas is ongoing, referring additional questions to Paxton’s office.

Security concerns about the refugees were raised by Abbott and many other governors, mostly Republicans, after the November 13 Paris attacks that killed 130 persons.

While many liberal politicians and human rights groups have spent the fall wringing their hands over anti-refugee sentiment, and the escalating anti-Muslim rhetoric that often accompanies it, religious groups have also stepped up their efforts to voice support for migrants they say are more likely war victims than threats to United States security.

“Those countries in the middle of Europe have closed their doors to receive refugees, and the news is being spread around in the camps here”, he said.

The American Civil Liberties Union of IN has filed a federal lawsuit against Pence on behalf of an IN refugee resettlement non-profit Exodus. The state has since withdrawn its request for an immediate ban on Syrian arrivals.