Big news! That’s for sure! Texas? Maybe Maine and Florida?
From Michael Patrick Leahy writing at Breitbart a few hours ago!
Gov. Sam Brownback’s recent decision to withdraw the state of Kansas from the federal refugee resettlement program may be just the first step in a full-fledged battle with the Obama administration over state sovereignty issues.
“We are aware of the legal argument and watching for developments,” Gov. Brownback’s spokesperson Eileen Hawley tells Breitbart News about the lawsuit the Tennessee General Assembly has declared it will file on Tenth Amendment grounds against the federal refugee resettlement program.
Hawley’s comment is just the latest indication of growing state resistance to the Obama administration’s efforts to increase the resettlement of Syrian refugees, even in states that have made clear they do not want them.
[….]
Several states currently participating in the program may be considering withdrawing as well.
“Our contract is up in one month and we are currently evaluating our options,” a spokesperson for Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas tells Breitbart News.
The spokesperson was referring to the contracts*** between the State of Texas and local resettlement agencies, or VOLAGs, for the operation of the federal refugee resettlement program in the state.
“The Governor in conjunction with the refugee coordinator ” were identified by the spokesperson as the responsible parties evaluating current options. [One option is to opt-out!—ed]
[….]
Sources tell Breitbart News that Maine and Florida are two additional states that may be considering withdrawal from the federal refugee resettlement program.
Remember readers, the feds argue that if states opt-out as provided for in the original 1980 Act, the feds can simply assign a non-profit group to run the program in the state. The Thomas More Law Center claims that such action is not constitutional according to the Tenth Amendment. Additionally, it appears to critics that the Wilson-Fish* amendments do not contain the authority for the federal government to pass on to an unelected, non-governmental entity the right to make decisions which expend state and local tax dollars.
This is a two step process and in order to possibly succeed, the state must withdraw, become a so-called Wilson-Fish state, and then file a lawsuit described in the Breitbart story, continue reading here.
Maybe if the whole system is thrown into legal chaos, Obama won’t get all of his Syrians in by September 30th.
Our coverage of Kansas and New Jersey is here. And, the most recent post on Tennessee is here.
*Is yours a Wilson Fish state: Alaska, Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, South Dakota, North Dakota, Tennessee and Vermont.
*** This makes me laugh, I’m told that Anne Richard, the Asst. Sec. of State for Population, Refugees and Migration claims they don’t have contracts with the non-profit groups.