White House reassures governors on refugee resettlement

“Demands that Texas and other states must bow to the federal government and accept Syrian refugees is just another example of the arrogance and overreach of the Obama Administration”.

The letter, obtained by the Houston Chronicle, proposes a new process through the National Governors Association to respond to individual inquiries from states where refugees are resettling.

Aaron Rippenkroeger, president of Refugee Services of Texas, said the state had not been in touch with his aid group since sending a letter to groups last month telling them to stop resettling Syrians.

On Monday night, the Dallas office of the International Rescue Committee released a statement saying that it hoped that Texas would “continue to honor” the tradition of being a “safe haven for the world’s most vulnerable refugees”.

The White House said Monday it will tell Gov. Chris Christie and other governors how many Syrian refugees are settling in their states.

Unlike most of his GOP colleagues, Herbert said he wouldn’t close the door to Syrian refugees seeking to come to Utah, though he added that he wants the state’s Department of Public Safety to review the security checks used to vet those seeking asylum.

The letter, signed Robert Carey the director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, said that his agency is committed “to ensuring that all refugees receive the assistance and services vital to achieving their potential in the United States and becoming self-sufficient, integrated members of our communities”. “That’s wonderfully assuring if you’re a governor of a state”. “Failure by your organization to cooperate with the State of Texas as required by federal law may result in the termination of your contract with the state and other legal action”, the letter states. According to current reports, the Obama administration is moving to increase and accelerate the number of Syrian refugees who might be admitted into the United States by opening new screening outposts in Iraq and Lebanon.

The majority of the 132 Syrian refugees permitted to resettle in the USA since November 13 (72) are male, the minority female (60).

Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer suggested recently that a terrorist is more likely to use a loophole in the visa waiver program than wait for two years to qualify as a refugee.

It said that refugees of all nationalities considered for admission to the USA “undergo a rigorous security screening involving multiple federal intelligence, security and law enforcement agencies”.

The State Department said that out of the 85,000 refugees to be accepted in fiscal year 2016, 10,000 of the slots will be reserved for Syrians. Ted Cruz expressed concern that terrorists could pose as refugees and gain entry into the United States.

The sticking point between Rauner and the White House over Syrian refugees fleeing a civil war remains whether the federal government will give IL information about them before their arrival.