From the Washington Post, Republican Governors are starting to make public their refusal to accept Syrian refugees as a result of the Paris attacks this past weekend:
The terrorist attacks in Paris have prompted two governors to announce that Syrian refugees will not be allowed to resettle in their states.
Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan and Gov. Robert Bentley of Alabama, both Republicans, issued individual statements Sunday declaring that their states would not be open to refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria.
Noting Michigan’s “rich history of immigration,” Snyder’s statement said, “But our first priority is protecting the safety of our residents.”
and…
Police are investigating a Syrian passport found near the spot where suicide bombers blew themselves up outside France’s national stadium. Greek authorities have traced the passport to a refugee who was among the 198 that arrived at Leros, an Aegean island, by way of a migrant boat on Oct. 3.
The story also notes that there’s little that Governors can actually do, despite the strain accepting refugees puts on state and local governments.
The attacks on Paris linked to at least some Syrian refugees comes a couple of months after South Dakota’s Liberal Democrats are out there saying “We should take more refugees from Syria.”
But, given their promises to attack the United States, should we?
What do you think? Do we need to open our borders and accept Syrian refugees, or is the risk and expense too great?
*Update* – Add Gov. Bobby Jindal to the list of people at least thinking about it:
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican candidate for president, wrote the White House a letter Saturday, demanding information on refugees seeking resettlement in his state. “It is irresponsible and severely disconcerting to place individuals, who may have ties to ISIS, in a state without the state’s knowledge or involvement.”
*Another Update* – At least one South Dakota State legislator is also having concerns over Obama’s Syrian Refugee Resettlement program:
We’ve already learned that at least one of the Paris terrorists was from Syria and rescued in Greece from a sinking boat and found his way to France with other refugees.
Syrian refugees are starting to arrive in New Orleans this week. We are expecting 15,000 or so in the United States. The administration doubled down over the weekend on their commitment to receiving Syrian refugees. They have no papers, we know nothing about them, and some of them will eventually be settled in Sioux Falls and Huron, among other places nearby.
I sure hope for all of our sakes that these in Paris slipped through the cracks. But, when we know nothing about them and can get no history of them–there’s no slipping needed, and the crack is about 2500 miles wide. If they’re not coming here directly, they’re just going to Mexico and walking north. I know we’re a nation of immigrants, but when my great grandparents went through Ellis Island, other Germans, Norwegians, or Irish weren’t screaming Death to America–they wanted to become Americans.
I just listened to as much of Obama’s speech at the European conference (as much as I could stomach), and he stated that his first duty was to the safety of the United States citizens. And then he went on to say a few minutes later that we had to accept the Syrian refugees because we are a compassionate country. I get that we are known for being a compassionate country, but in times of war (and this is a war declared by radical Islam) common sense needs to take precedence. I don’t hold out any hope for this administration to have any!
Denny ?
So we now live in a dictatorship. The legislature has no say, the governors have no say, just Obama saying come on in. I have listened to many concerned legislators and others in the news today who say there is no sure vetting, regardless of what the administration claims, that passports are easily falsified, and that many if not most of those “refugees” are able-bodied young men, not the women and children we constantly hear about. This is a matter of national security and should be a matter decided by the legislature and military advisors, not just one single person in an imperial presidency. But I guess those days are long gone.
Which representative said that?
Follow the link provided.
I have serious doubts that the safety of the US is a priority of this Administration. The President has shown no inclination to place the safety of our citizens first.
Dennis Daugaard better get some cahones, and fast. Now every north central state has pushed back on Obama’s insidious plan to resettle un-vetted immigrants, including North Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska. What’s he trying to do– paint a big target on our backs? He’s worried that the states have “no say” in the matter? That hasn’t fazed the governors of 36 states. They are defending their citizens. Dennis Daugaard is NOT defending us.
But then again– this is the same guy who thinks Common Core is a great idea. And uses an 8th grade geography text in SD public schools that covers 2 weeks’ worth of “The Rise of Islam.” (while meanwhile there is no corresponding lessons on “The Rise of Western Civilization for our children to study).
Daugaard is clueless. Just clueless.