Governors not falling for Obama’s ploy on Muslim refugees

The controversy over Syrian refugees and where they will be placed is blowing the lid off the federal government’s refugee resettlement program as governors are learning just how secretive this program really is.

 

In a Nov. 17 conference call with the White House, governors from more than a dozen states were told they were not permitted to find out who is being resettled in their states, according to sources who listened in on the call.

 

That conference call was initiated by the White House after 27 governors said they would at least temporarily bar refugees from being resettled in their states if they could not find out what countries they were coming from and be given some assurances that they were properly screened. This uproar came in the wake of the Paris attacks after it was reported at least two of the attackers entered Europe as Syrian “refugees.”

 

“There was a real sense of frustration from all the governors that there is just a complete lack of transparency and communication coming from the federal government,” said one GOP state official who was on the conference call.

 

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have been especially problematic for the White House in its efforts to keep the details of Syrian refugee arrivals secret.

 

Pence and Christie have vowed to close their states completely to Syrian refugees if they can’t get the information they want – setting up a legal showdown over who has ultimate authority over the refugee program, the states or the White House.

 

Then came the news Monday that the White House would be offering a “new program” to assuage the governors concerns. The Knoxville News Sentinel in Tennessee reported:

 

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