Two (more) state legislatures attempting to wrest some control from feds for refugee resettlement
Posted by Ann Corcoran on March 26, 2016
South Carolina moved one step closer recently to advance a bill to try to get some control over who is being resettled in the state, and in Michigan bills were introduced to do the same.
I know it should be my job to explain the ins and outs of the various bills and attempt to predict what will happen with them, but honestly I don’t have the will power (or the legal skills!) to sort through it all. So, instead, I’ll give you a couple of news accounts from this week (AB–After Belgium) for you to read yourself.
South Carolina…
Ted Goins, CEO of Lutheran Services Carolinas told Think Progress: “South Carolina has a long history of welcoming those seeking refuge…” Well, actually no it doesn’t, it is one of the least refugee-populated states in the US (up until now).
First, check out what Think Progress says about the South Carolina initiative. The closest they come to mentioning that Lutheran Social Services is a government contractor is to say they have been “tasked” with the job of getting refugees established in the state. No mention of the millions of your tax dollars paying them for their ‘task.’
Needless to say, if the South Carolina bill would become law, it will have a chilling effect on resettlement in the state as the Lutheran federal contractor could be held liable for crimes committed by their clients.
It is good to read publications like Think Progress from time to time. You know it is a publication of the Center for American Progress (Soros, Clinton, John Podesta).
There is another article with wailing and moaning about the bill here. For once, the contractors are on the defense.
Then there is the new effort in Michigan.
See Leo Hohmann writing at World Net Daily yesterday for the skinny on that pushback.
After telling us all the troubles Michigan is having with a rapidly expanding Muslim population, he reports that a citizens group (a pocket of resistance) has formed to push back. Here is WND:
Mosques are mushrooming in Michigan, this one in Dearborn.
That is sparking an organized backlash from Michigan residents.
A citizens’ group called Secure Michigan has formed as a watchdog over the refugee resettlement program in the state. Secure Michigan issued a statement Tuesday after the jihadist attack on Brussels, Belgium, that killed 34 people and injured 200. The statement urged Michigan GOP Gov. Rick Snyder to renew his opposition to President Obama’s Syrian refugee program.
Obama wants to resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees in the U.S., about half of them in Michigan.
All of this has put pressure on state lawmakers to do something to slow down the flow of Third World refugees into Michigan.
State Rep. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, has answered the call. He introduced legislation to make refugee placements in Michigan both safe and more transparent, while also giving local government a voice in the process as required by federal immigration law.
“House Bills 5528 and 5529 will protect both our communities and refugees entering our communities.
Continue reading here. Then see our complete archive going back to 2007 on Michigan, here. For more on South Carolina over the years, go here.
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