McKenna: Refugee vetting concerns are reasonable, but governors opinions don’t matter
Nov 19, 2015, 9:37 AM | Updated: 11:01 am
Washington Governor Jay Inslee supports the idea of bringing Syrian refugees to the state. (AP)
(AP)
Governors across the country have a lot to say about Syrian refugees being given asylum in the United States. Too bad what they’re saying doesn’t matter much.
More than half the governors of this country have decided they don’t want to take in Syrian refugees. However, former attorney general and KIRO Radio political analyst Rob McKenna explains they don’t have a say.
“Governors don’t have any such authority,” McKenna told Seattle’s Morning News. “The U.S. Constitution says only the Federal government can decide who can come in and out of the country.”
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And when someone has legally entered this country’s borders, they can move freely throughout it. State’s can’t create barriers, McKenna says.
That information probably isn’t going to change the tune Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has been singing since the debate over refugees arose following the terrorist attacks in Paris that killed 129 people and injured more than 350. Inslee announced the state will continue to welcome Syrian refugees if the Federal government decides it will receive 10,000 people.
Inslee has criticized other governors who have threatened to refuse refugees following the attacks.
Sadly, in the wake of #ParisAttacks, many people have channeled their fear and anger against ISIS into fear and anger against Muslims. 2/3
— Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) November 16, 2015
But KIRO Radio’s Dave Ross asked whether those fears over refugees are sincere. Maybe it’s justifiable since states having no way to track people when they enter the country.
Related: Refugee, immigration controversy has long history in Washington
“It’s a problem,” McKenna said. “I think the most reasonable thing the governors are saying is that [the Federal government] needs to make sure [the Department of Homeland Security] is doing a thorough job of vetting them.”
Most would agree that’s a reasonable request. And if you speak with someone trying to get into the country legally, they might tell you how much of a pain it can be.
“At the same time, these refugees have been through an awful lot and the idea of keeping families with young children out just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me,” McKenna said.
Though they don’t have much — if any — say in whether or not refugees can enter the country, governors could potentially cut funding to local agencies that assist refugees, McKenna points out.
