With Ben Carson reaffirming his belief that refugees should not come to the US, and numerous states saying that they will not take any whatsoever, it might seem like the “land of the free” is no longer welcoming to the huddled masses. With that in mind, it's not really shocking to hear that Texas officials have threatened to sue a humanitarian aid group if it continues to help relocate Syrians to the state.
The Dallas branch of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) received a letter from Chris Taylor, the head of the state’s health and human services commission. In it he stated:
“We strongly believe that a failure to cooperate with the state on this matter violates federal law and your contract with the state,” and “The governor believes that accepting refugees from Syria is incompatible with an absolute commitment to the safety of Texans because the President has shown the Governor no willingness to improve the security screenings of refugees from Syria, despite the abundant evidence that the screenings are ineffective.”
After the attacks in Paris, Texas was one of the first states to announce that it would oppose Syrian refugees coming to the state, citing security concerns.
The IRC responded by saying that they would welcome to opportunity to meet with the governor and state officials to discuss the resettlement of Syrian refugees, and urged them not to conflate terrorists with refugees.
