Texas becomes first US state to refuse refugees under Trump order

Governor Greg Abbott ofTexason Friday became thefirstgovernor in the UnitedStates torefuseto acceptrefugeesunderan executiveorderrequiring local jurisdictions to actively opt into the federal resettlement program.

The decision is a major blow to the program sinceTexasis the largest recipient ofrefugeesin the country.

"At this time, thestateand non-profit organizations have a responsibility to dedicate available resources to those who are already here, includingrefugees, migrants and the homeless," Abbott, a Republican, said in his letter to the USStateDepartment.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

"As a result,Texascannot consent," to refugee resettlement this fiscal year, he said.

AStateDepartment official said the executiveordersigned by President DonaldTrumponly affects the federal government’s decision about where to placerefugeesimmediately after they arrive. It does not apply to a refugee's spouse or unmarried childrenunder21 who are being admitted to join them in the UnitedStates, the official said.

Refugeeswho are initially settled in another USstatecan subsequently move toTexas, but they would not have access to federal resettlement benefits, such as housing, there, resettlement agencies say.

"This is a deeply disappointing decision," said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and chief executive officer of the resettlement agency Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS). "Historically,Texashas served as a beacon of hope forrefugeesfrom across the globe."

So far, 41 governors,18 of them Republican and at least seven dozen local officials have consented to resettlement, according to an LIRS tally.

Florida and Georgia, other major recipients ofrefugees, have so far remained silent on their stance. The governor's office in Florida said it was still reviewing the issue and Georgia declined to comment.

Cutting immigration has been a centrepiece ofTrump's presidency and 2020 re-election campaign. One of hisfirstacts after assuming office in January 2017 was to issue anordercapping the maximum number ofrefugeesthat year at 50,000. Since then, the cap has been slashed every year.

Trumpset a ceiling of 18,000 refugee admissions for this year, the lowest level since the modern refugee program began in 1980. By contrast, former Democratic President Barack Obama proposed resettling 110,000refugeesin the 2017 fiscal year ending in September.

Approximately 2,500refugeeswere resettled inTexasin the 2019 fiscal year, down 70 per cent from fiscal 2016, according toStateDepartment data.

The administration has said the consent requirement, signed in September, aimed to ensure receiving communities have the resources to integraterefugees.

But refugee resettlement groups have argued that giving local governors and mayors a veto over whom they accept is unconstitutional and would disrupt the way they work.

Three of the nine national resettlement agencies sued theTrumpadministration in federal court in an effort to block theorderfrom being implemented.

Arguments in the case were held this week, and USDistrict Judge Peter Messitte in Greenbelt, Maryland, appointed by former Democratic President Bill Clinton, could rule on the case soon.