Sorry I’m in a hurry and can’t do this story justice, but wanted to get it posted while it is still breaking news. Berkeley County, SC elected officials passed a resolution last night stating their displeasure at the possibility of refugees being resettled there. Although, remember readers that the US State Department still has the power to foist the program on any community they wish because there isn’t much towns and cities can do to deter them other than to express their views and hope the federal government and its contractors will go somewhere else.
I urge the County Council to make sure SC senior Senator Lindsey Graham and Rep. Trey Gowdy (chairman of the House subcommittee responsible for the Refugee program!) be informed of their opinion.
From The Post and Courier (thanks to all who sent it):
MONCKS CORNER — Berkeley County officials made it clear Monday that they do not want refugees resettled here.
The Republican-majority County Council, following the lead of a some Upstate counties, unanimously approved a resolution saying it does not approve of the Refugee Resettlement Project, a federal program designed to resettle refugees from the Middle East.
[….]
There are not currently any plans to resettle Syrian refugees in Berkeley County, officials have said. Some Republicans say it is hard to perform background checks on Syrian refugees because of the turmoil in their country.
[….]
“I don’t know what they anticipate in South Carolina,” said state Sen. Lee Bright, a Republican who represents Greenville and Spartanburg counties. “They haven’t brought any Syrians (to Spartanburg) yet, but it’s one of those things where, once they’re here, it’s a little late. I’ve been hearing about a lot of grass-roots movements opposing this and I hope that continues.”
He said Monday he met with Richards [Asst. Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration, Anne Richard—ed] and “she basically said if it was an environment that was not welcoming, they would have to rethink it, so as far as that goes, if the county councils pass the resolution, they’re going to be less likely to be affected, at least based on what Anne Richards has said.”
We will see if the State Department honors that promise because they are scrambling now to find enough places to resettle 85,000 refugees in the next twelve months, 10,000 of whom will be mostly Muslim Syrians.
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