Community Chat

[Preds]

Our Gov. wants to "delay" it until the States can be more involved in the process. Well, what's done is done and Gov has no say so ... so to speak.  We have a family moving in to our neighborhood in a few weeks.  The story given our neighbor was that this husband helped our people and it became dangerous for him and his family to stay.  We pray that is true but ...  He knows a little English, his wife, none.  His kids are better at English. 

We have a mixture of cultures and religions here.  We have enjoyed making it work and being on good terms with each others beliefs.  We, the current neighborhood, are afraid.  Especially the Muslims that have lived here for just about as long as we have. 

[Bestdressed]

I think the governors can resist assisting the refugees... but they cannot refuse to take them in.

They need to make a stringent process to better background checks and allow the US to be involved as to what these refugees are up to... Bypassing all of our privacy laws.

(CNN)More than half the nation's governors -- 27 states -- say they oppose letting Syrian refugees into their states, although the final say on this contentious immigration issue will fall to the federal government.

States protesting the admission of refugees range from Alabama and Georgia, to Texas and Arizona, to Michigan and Illinois, to Maine and New Hampshire. Among these 27 states, all but one have Republican governors.

The announcements came after authorities revealed that at least one of the suspects believed to be involved in the Paris terrorist attacks entered Europe among the current wave of Syrian refugees. He had falsely identified himself as a Syrian named Ahmad al Muhammad and was allowed to enter Greece in early October.

Some leaders say they either oppose taking in any Syrian refugees being relocated as part of a national program or asked that they be particularly scrutinized as potential security threats.

Only 1,500 Syrian refugees have been accepted into the United States since 2011, but the Obama administration announced in September that 10,000 Syrians will be allowed entry next year.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations said Monday, "Defeating ISIS involves projecting American ideals to the world. Governors who reject those fleeing war and persecution abandon our ideals and instead project our fears to the world."

Authority over admitting refugees to the country, though, rests with the federal government -- not with the states -- though individual states can make the acceptance process much more difficult, experts said.

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 a much more arduous task.

"So a state can't say it is legally objecting, but it can refuse to cooperate, which makes thing much more difficult."

Is shunning refugees the answer to terror?

Kevin Appleby, director of migration policy at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said one tactic states could use would be to cut their own funding in areas such as resettling refugees. The conference is the largest refugee resettlement organization in the country.

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.

In announcing that his state would not accept any Syrian refugees, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted Monday on his personal account, "I demand the U.S. act similarly," he said. "Security comes first."

[foundinlv]

Colonel Jack Jacobs also said that the Sunni's are an apocalyptic people waiting for the end of the world and want to take everyone else with them.  

[Laura14]

If my state does get refugees and I'm sure we already have them from other countries and possibly Syria if its been going on a while, here's my suggestion.  

On the off chance you run into someone from another country in your neck of the woods, being nice and welcoming towards another human being until they give you a reason not to, goes a long way in integrating them into our society and is hand to hand terrorism prevention at its finest.  

I was lucky enough to grow up in a city of immigrant neighborhoods and while we definitely and occasionally still do snark at each other's differences from time to time, on the whole, most of us made really good neighbors.  

I'm assuming Obama isn't on here under an assumed name so we can't control what's coming but we can react to it with cautiousness while still having an open mind and that's all anyone can really expect from any of us at this point.  

[AngusandBuddhasMom]

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@Laura14 wrote:

If my state does get refugees and I'm sure we already have them from other countries and possibly Syria if its been going on a while, here's my suggestion.  

On the off chance you run into someone from another country in your neck of the woods, being nice and welcoming towards another human being until they give you a reason not to, goes a long way in integrating them into our society and is hand to hand terrorism prevention at its finest.  

I was lucky enough to grow up in a city of immigrant neighborhoods and while we definitely and occasionally still do snark at each other's differences from time to time, on the whole, most of us made really good neighbors.  

I'm assuming Obama isn't on here under an assumed name so we can't control what's coming but we can react to it with cautiousness while still having an open mind and that's all anyone can really expect from any of us at this point.  

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That is awesome. I also live in a town in a state that is ethnically diverse unfortunately 14 yrs ago 40 residents never made it home. and this was repeated all over the tri state area and well after that.  We pride ourselves on being friendly and open. I guess it depends on where you live. How it will effect you. 

[Bestdressed]

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@AngusandBuddhasMom wrote:

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@Laura14 wrote:

If my state does get refugees and I'm sure we already have them from other countries and possibly Syria if its been going on a while, here's my suggestion.  

On the off chance you run into someone from another country in your neck of the woods, being nice and welcoming towards another human being until they give you a reason not to, goes a long way in integrating them into our society and is hand to hand terrorism prevention at its finest.  

I was lucky enough to grow up in a city of immigrant neighborhoods and while we definitely and occasionally still do snark at each other's differences from time to time, on the whole, most of us made really good neighbors.  

I'm assuming Obama isn't on here under an assumed name so we can't control what's coming but we can react to it with cautiousness while still having an open mind and that's all anyone can really expect from any of us at this point.  

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That is awesome. I also live in a town in a state that is ethnically diverse unfortunately 14 yrs ago 40 residents never made it home. and this was repeated all over the tri state area and well after that.  We pride ourselves on being friendly and open. I guess it depends on where you live. How it will effect you. 

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@AngusandBuddhasMom  ... What happened to the 40 residents?

[AngusandBuddhasMom]

9/11

[biancardi]

I would think that those fleeing from syria are doing so because they are scared for their own lives and the lives of their families. They have no intent to harm.  By disallowing them a refugee status, there are only two choices

1.  we are condeeming them to death

2.  we are force them into the arms of ISIL because they need to survive, and therefore, allowing the ranks of ISIL to grow. ISIL will use this as propoganda to recuit more, about how heartless and hateful the western world is to the plight of women and children and how they took them in.

by takin in the refugees, we can turn that around and use that against ISIL.  We did this with refugees from the Communist countries - took them in, even though there were some that were spies.   Took them in, learned from them, their culture and used it against the USSR to show how people didn't want to live in a communist regime

Let's not do what we did in 1939 when refugees were denied entry in this country. 

[Bestdressed]

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@AngusandBuddhasMom wrote:

9/11

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I am so sorry...ignorant on my behalf.  I thought it was separate incident.  A reminder that one day changes all of us.  

The immense pain, that terrible day so many lives were lost.

One life lost is so very hard ... 40 is unbearable and 2,977 is unimaginable.

[LTT1]

@Topaz Gem

I see what you are saying and this pertains to the issue of trust.  TRUST

The middle eastern students  (families were not US citizens) in my classes were on the fence about where their loyalties should lie. I could tell they felt guilty for using our educational system to then further their religious goals ... Poor children.  Divided loyalties thru no fault of their own.  Mostly no dads at home... Dad lived abroad.

In general, these students were taught not to accept American culture as their own.  This infuriates me. Not to stand for the pledge .... And women were not to be admired or accepted as having authority. I saw these people as culturally rebellious.