More than two dozen governors have voiced opposition to the federal government resettling Syrian refugees within their states in the wake of attacks in Paris carried out by Islamic state terrorists, one of whom posed as a refugee in order to enter France.
In September, President Obama announced that the U.S. would take in as many as 10,000 Syrians in addition to its 2014 annual cap of 70,000.
On Monday governors began releasing statements ranging from requests and recommendations to demands and full-out refusals to accept the refugees.
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Florida Gov. Rick Scott asked Congress to use its legislative authority to prevent the White House from using federal tax dollars to fund the initiative. Others, like Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, gave conditions to which they would accept refugees from the Middle East, including the implementation of heightened screening procedures. In Alabama, Gov. Robert Bentley said the Cotton State will oppose accepting any Syrian refugees, but down in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott wrote an open letter to the president saying the Lone Star State will not accept any.
But there is a debate over to what extent governors have the legal authority to push back against the refugee resettlement program.
Under Section 412 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, states do not have the authority to refuse foreign nationals who have been granted asylum or refugee status by the federal government. Additionally, the White House does not need to consult with states on decisions to parole or give refuge to foreign nationals.
“Under the INA, the president must only seek ‘appropriate consultation’ when deciding to admit refugees. The term appropriate consultation is defined to include cabinet level representatives and committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and House. State participation is not referenced in the resettlement process,” Dale Wilcox, executive director of the Immigration Reform Law Institute, told the Washington Examiner.
However, the Office of Refugee Resettlement is required to consult with state and local governments and nonprofit agencies to accept recommendations made by state officials.
Although 26 states do not wish to take in Syrian refugees, seven — Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Washington — have said they will.
In 2014 and 2015, 38 percent of the admitted 69,933 refugees were resettled in Texas, California, New York, Arizona and Michigan, according to the Migration Policy Institute. All but California and New York have said they do not wish to take in Syrians, leaving other states to take in more.
In Fiscal Year 2015 (Oct. 1, 2014-Sept. 30, 2015), the U.S. accepted 1,682 Syrian refugees. As of Nov. 17, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has counted 4.2 million Syrians fleeing the country, 15,000 of which were referred to the U.S. in mid-2015. The actual number of people who will be granted admission to America is determined through the State Department’s screening of applicants, a process that takes 18 to 24 months.
Since the U.S. is the world’s top resettlement country for refugees, the Obama administration has already increased the cap to 85,000 in FY 2016 and 100,000 in FY 2017, after UNHCR reported nearly 60 million people were displaced within their country or fled internationally due to violence in 2014, making it the highest levels ever recorded.
