HARTFORD–In light of the terror attacks in Paris last week, citizens and leaders across the country are split on whether to push forward with President Barack Obama’s plan to allow more than 100,000 Syrian refugees into the country next year.
Gov. Dan Malloy has announced that he agrees with the president’s decision to move forward as planned, and said that Connecticut will continue to accept Syrian refugees.
“Women were kidnapped and sold into slavery and impregnated or otherwise raped. We’re going to deny those folks? Some protection, there are people on the list who were our allies in fighting ISIS, we’re going to deny them protection? I just think this is a mass hysteria,” the governor said Tuesday.
However, 30 states' governors--one of which has a Democrat in office (New Hampshire)--have announced their official opposition to allowing in Syrian refugees. Besides Malloy, six other states have said that they will continue to welcome Syrian refugees.
The states with governors opposing refugees include: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
On Tuesday, the White House held a 90-minute conference call to discuss the issue with governors. The president wasn't on the call, but top staff from the White House, Department of Homeland Security and State Department were on hand to answer questions.
Thirteen governors, who were not identified by the White House, asked questions and Obama Chief of Staff Denis McDonough promised to maintain open communications with state leaders, in part through the National Governors Association.
The call with administration officials is part of "ongoing outreach and communications" with state and local officials, a White House official said. The White House "will share existing information about Syrian refugee admissions policies and security screening measures."
States vs. the federal government
While states can make it difficult for refugees to enter the country, governors don't have the power to refuse refugees since that power lies with the federal government.
American University law professor Stephen I. Vladeck put it this way: "Legally, states have no authority to do anything because the question of who should be allowed in this country is one that the Constitution commits to the federal government." But Vladeck noted that without the state's participation, the federal government would have more trouble achieving its goals.
Kevin Appleby, director of migration policy at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which is the largest refugee resettlement organization in the country, said one tactic states could use would be to cut their own funding in areas such as resettling refugees.
But "when push comes to shove, the federal government has both the plenary power and the power of the 1980 Refugee Act to place refugees anywhere in the country," Appleby said.
More than 250,000 people have died since the violence broke out in Syria in 2011, and at least 11 million people in the country of 22 million have fled their homes. Syrians are now the world's largest refugee population, according to the United Nations. Most are struggling to find safe haven in Europe.
An arduous screening process to protect national security
One of the points that the federal government is trying to hammer home is that it isn't easy for refugees to get asylum in the Untied States.
Scott Bates, the president for the Center for National Policy, a nonpartisan nonprofit started in the 1980s, said that most refugees will never see our shores.
"It's only 1 out of every 700 that are displaced by the Syrian civil war that might even come here," he explained. Also, he added, it takes about a year and a half for a refugee to be completely screened before being allowed in.
Deputy Homeland Security Advisor Amy Pope, who also serves as the deputy assistant for the National Security Council to President Obama, published some information on the White House's blog on Tuesday to explain the president's reasoning for continuing our refugee program.
"Now, even as we intensify our efforts in coordination with our partners to take ISIL out, we cannot turn our backs on those most threatened by the terrorist group," Pope said. "The refugees that have captivated so much attention in the wake of Friday’s attack are fleeing precisely the type of senseless slaughter that occurred in Paris. To slam the door in their faces -- to decide not to help when we know that we can help -- would be a betrayal of our values. It would be un-American."
Some reasons given for why the screening process is stringent enough include:
- Syrian refugees have the highest level of security check out of any traveler to the U.S.
- The screening process involves several governmental organizations, including the National Counterterrorism Center, the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center, the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department and the Department of Defense
- Refugees are only admitted after successfully completing the screening process, which includes the requirement to provide all available biographic and biometric information to the screeners, who then vet it against law enforcement and intelligence databases
Pope also pointed out that while any Syrian will be considered for refugee status, those who are most vulnerable are the focus of the process.
Survivors of violence and torture, those who have severe medical conditions, and women and children will be given priority in the screening process.
"In the days since the attack on Paris some have taken the narrow view that protecting Americans from ISIL mandates that we turn our back on those most at risk to the terrorist group -- the men, women and children forced to flee their homes and families, their schools and communities," Pope said. "The administration rejects the flawed view that we can’t ensure our own safety while also welcoming refugees desperately seeking their own safety. The truth is: America can and must do both."
Scott Bates agreed with Pope's assessment."Part of the ISIS narrative is that we don't care about the Muslim people. So if we keep our doors open, that's going to be a good day for our efforts against ISIS."
With additional reporting from CNN.
