Texas has taken the bold, in-your-face step of telling the federal government: You can take your refugee resettlement program and – find some other state to play.
Gov. Greg Abbott said his state wasn’t going to participate in the Office of Refugee Resettlement program because of security concerns.
His comments come just a few days after terrorists struck New York and New Jersey in separate bombing incidents.
Reuters has the story:
“The Texas State Refugee Coordinator sent a letter to the [federal Office of Refugee Resettlement] agency, giving 120 days notice of its intention to withdraw, charging the program was riddled with problems that present security risks, Republican Governor Greg Abbott said.
“The Office of Refugee Resettlement said in a statement its services to help integrate newcomers into U.S. society are only provided after they complete stringent U.S. security screenings.
“Despite multiple requests by the State of Texas, the federal government lacks the capability or the will to distinguish the dangerous from the harmless, and Texas will not be an accomplice to such dereliction of duty to the American people,’ Abbott said in a statement.”
A politician who puts Americans first – listen up, President Obama. You could learn a thing or two.
Reuters went on:
“Texas, a bellwether state for conservative policies, has seen other Republican-led states follow its lead in challenging the Obama administration’s refugee resettlement plans in and out of the courts.”
Secretary of State John Kerry, apparently blind to the terrorist acts that were just committed on America’s soil, and of the terrorism threat that open borders bring, had this to say, again from Reuters:
“The security vetting for this population, the most vulnerable of individuals, is extraordinarily thorough and comprehensive.”
That was back in November in a joint statement with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to Abbott, outlining the resettlement program process.
Well, that’s all fine and dandy, but neither Kerry nor Johnson live in Texas – or outside any community that’s not protected by armed, specially trained law enforcement agents, for that matter.
For the rest of America, there’s this, Reuters reported:
“Since Jan. 1, 2011, there have been 1,104 Syrian refugees resettled in Texas, according to the U.S. State Department-affiliated Refugee Processing Center. That is less than the 1,610 people resettled in California and the 1,515 sent to Michigan. …
“The Obama administration said on Aug. 29 it would meet its goal of admitting 10,000 Syrian refugees during the current fiscal year a month ahead of schedule and was working with Congress to increase the target by a few thousand during 2017.
“U.S. admission of Syrian refugees has been a hot button issue in the 2016 presidential race.
“The civil war in Syria has led to a flood of refugees. The United States has offered refuge to far fewer than many of its allies. Germany has taken in over a million refugees from Syria, North Africa and Asia in the last year, while Canada admitted nearly 30,000 between November last year and May 1.”
Reuters also reported a Texas withdrawal from the program wasn’t likely “impair the work of private relief groups from resettling refugees in the state.”
In other words: Texans are getting refugees, like it or not.
Post first appeared at PamelaGeller.com, http://pamelageller.com/2016/09/texas-to-obama-you-can-keep-your-refugee-resettlements-we-opt-out.html/.
