11 March 2016
Commissioners’ foreign policy should be based on fact, not fear
Insofar as I know, there are no serious proposals to resettle any Syrian refugees in Flathead County. Nevertheless, yesterday, after hearing 15 minutes of anti-refugee/anti-immigrant public comment, the Flathead County Commission approved sending to the federal government a letter opposing the resettlement of refugees here:
Anne C. Richard, Assistant Secretary
Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration
U. S. Department of State
2201 C Street N. W. #5805
Washington. DC 20520
RE: Resettling of Refugees in Flathead County
Dear Ms. Richard:
The Flathead County Commissioners oppose the resettling of refugees in Flathead County.
The Director of the FBI and DHS have both stated on the record that it is not possible to adequately investigate the legitimacy of each refugee’s status.
Influxes of refugees will overburden our community’s social services, health care agencies, affordable housing, job opportunities and local school districts, many of which carry an impact to our local taxpayers.
Therefore, we cannot support the relocation of refugees without a legitimate vetting process and an analysis of refugee impacts to our local community.
Is it true refugees can’t be adequately vetted?
As employed by the commissioners, “adequate” is a term of political art, defined by its user. It’s completely subjective and thus cannot serve as an independent standard for assessing public policy.
For some people, a vetting process that does not provide perfect assurance that all refugees will be perfect neighbors, always speaking flawless English, converting to Christianity, and never getting so much as a parking ticket, will not be adequate.
How refugees are vetted surfaced in the Republican presidential debate in Las Vegas late last fall, with Ted Cruz making allegations that Politifact ruled were mostly false.
The vetting process is long, complicated, and by definition imperfect — but according to the White House, so far, no Syrian refugees admitted to the United States has been arrested or deported for terrorism:
The number of Syrian refugees UNHCR has referred to the U.S. Refugees Admission Program: 23,092.
The number of Syrians the Department of Homeland Security has interviewed since FY 2011: 7,014.
The number of Syrian refugees who have been admitted since FY 2011: 2,034
The number of Syrian refugees resettled in the U.S. that have been arrested or removed on terrorism charges: 0.
That’s a pretty good record. But apparently our commissioners want assurances from Almighty God that all refugees will convert to Christianity, always speak flawless English, and never so much as commit a parking violation.
This attitude fans the flames of anti-refugee hysteria that are incinerating the good sense and better angels of some members of our community. I do not gainsay the fear these people feel. They are genuinely afraid of refugees and Muslims. But their level of fear is not justified by the facts, and it should not be validated by a vote of the county commission.