Jan 7 (Reuters) - Alabama officials sued the U.S. government on Thursday over concerns about the placement of refugees from Syria and other countries in the Southern state, its governor said. The lawsuit filed in federal court for the Northern District of Alabama claims the Obama administration had not provided state officials with enough information about any refugees to be settled in the state. Republican Governor Robert Bentley moved to bar Syrian refugees from the state after the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris for which the group Islamic State claimed responsibility…. “The process and manner in which the Obama Administration and the federal government are executing the Refugee Reception Program is blatantly excluding the states,” he said in a statement. The lawsuit, which names the heads of multiple federal agencies, asks a court to find that the government must disclose information on each refugee, including medical history, and to certify that the individual does not pose a security risk.
There are few things more nakedly hypocritical and thoroughly unChristian than advocating for refusing Syrian refugees entry into this country. Gov. Bentley’s unreasonable and arguably immoral attempt to bar refugees because of the highly unlikely chance they MIGHT be terrorists is the one of the worst examples of government promotion of racism and Islamophobia I’ve seen.
I’d ask Gov. Bentley why he’s so all fired up about terrorism even as he’s completely ignoring the most significant threat to the Homeland- domestic terrorism perpetrated by angry White Christians who look a lot like you and me (Oh, right; White people can’t be terrorists, remember??). If terrorism is indeed the concern, Syrian refugees are arguably an exceedingly minimal risk. In order to be granted refugee status, Syrians must undergo a robust and thorough 18- to 24-month screening process that ends up admitting only a very small percentage of those who apply. By granting them refugee status, the federal government is already making a statement that they don’t believe Syrians to be a terrorist threat. Demanding that the federal government “certify” that each individual doesn’t pose a security is as superfluous as it is obvious in intent. Gov. Bentley has previously made it crystal clear he objects to Syrian refugees being settled in Alabama. Demanding that each individual refugee be “certified” as safe is simply intended as a road block. Disclosing the medical histories of individual refugees is a clear and obvious invasion of personal privacy that has no bearing on a Syrian’s fitness for refugee status.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made it clear that Canada will welcome refugees from Syria with open hearts, and he’s been very open about his belief that Canada has a responsibility to welcome those displaced by war, religious strife, and/or political unrest. It’s too bad Republican politicians in this country are too dominated by fear and demagoguery to be able to show similar compassion to those in dire straits.
Unfortunately for Gov. Bentley, the state of Alabama has no voice in federal immigration policy. He can posture all he wants, and the feds can and should direct him to pound sand. America also has a responsibility to welcome those displaced by war, religious strife, and/or political unrest. The federal government’s screening process is helping to ensure that we meet that responsibility. It’s the Christian thing to do, and an example that Gov. Bentley and others willing to demagogue this issue could learn from.
It’s what Jesus would do, after all.
