State Governors Don’t Have Power To Refuse Syrian Refugees
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It’s not up to state governors whether or not to accept refugees.
Governors of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin, among others, have pledged to block refugees from entering their states.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said that his state would refrain from being involved “in any program that will result in Syrian refugees — any one of whom could be connected to terrorism — being resettled in Texas.”
Unfortunately for these governors, there is no law that permits a state governor to decide immigration policy as there is for the President. Under the Refugee Act of 1980, only President Obama has the authority to accept foreign refugees, something that Rick Scott acknowledged in a statement.
“It is our understanding that the state does not have the authority to prevent the federal government from funding the relocation of these Syrian refugees to Florida even without state support,” Scott said.
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