TN Senate Republican Caucus press release, NASVHILLE — Senate State and Local Government Committee Chairman Ken
Yager (R-Kingston) and House State Government Committee Chairman Bob
Ramsey (R-Maryville) said today that they are planning to conduct a
joint hearing in early December to look at plans by the federal Office
of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to bring Syrian refugees to Tennessee.
Reports indicate that Tennessee will likely receive some of the 10,000 Syrian refugees for resettlement under President Obama’s admissions plans. Governor Bill Haslam on Monday asked federal officials to suspend placements in Tennessee until states can become more of a partner in the vetting process.
“We treat the placement by the federal government of Syrian refugees in Tennessee as a serious matter,” said Senator Yager. “The attack in Paris serves as another wake-up call that ISIS is serious about embedding the enemy in our communities. This comes on the heels of the terrorist attack in our state this summer. While we want to act humanely in our efforts to help those who legitimately need assistance, we owe it to our citizens to place their safety as our highest priority.”
Yager and Ramsey said their agenda is incomplete but they plan to ask the state’s Department of Safety and Homeland Security and Tennessee Office for Refugees to provide testimony at the meeting. In 2008, Governor Phil Bredesen’s administration withdrew the State of Tennessee as the point of contact for the federal refugee resettlement program, instead opting to allow the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement to select a non-governmental organization to operate the program. That program, the Tennessee Office for Refugees, is now operated by Catholic Charities of Tennessee, Inc.
“We just have a lot of questions as reports have indicated Tennessee is set to receive Syrian refugees,” added Ramsey. “We want to get to the facts about how these refugees are handled and what kind of say-so the state has in the matter. Most of all we want to know how best to protect our citizens.”
Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey on Facebook writes:
Reports indicate that Tennessee will likely receive some of the 10,000 Syrian refugees for resettlement under President Obama’s admissions plans. Governor Bill Haslam on Monday asked federal officials to suspend placements in Tennessee until states can become more of a partner in the vetting process.
“We treat the placement by the federal government of Syrian refugees in Tennessee as a serious matter,” said Senator Yager. “The attack in Paris serves as another wake-up call that ISIS is serious about embedding the enemy in our communities. This comes on the heels of the terrorist attack in our state this summer. While we want to act humanely in our efforts to help those who legitimately need assistance, we owe it to our citizens to place their safety as our highest priority.”
Yager and Ramsey said their agenda is incomplete but they plan to ask the state’s Department of Safety and Homeland Security and Tennessee Office for Refugees to provide testimony at the meeting. In 2008, Governor Phil Bredesen’s administration withdrew the State of Tennessee as the point of contact for the federal refugee resettlement program, instead opting to allow the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement to select a non-governmental organization to operate the program. That program, the Tennessee Office for Refugees, is now operated by Catholic Charities of Tennessee, Inc.
“We just have a lot of questions as reports have indicated Tennessee is set to receive Syrian refugees,” added Ramsey. “We want to get to the facts about how these refugees are handled and what kind of say-so the state has in the matter. Most of all we want to know how best to protect our citizens.”
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I look forward to this hearing and I am confident there will be many bills brought this year to address this issue. It has long been clear that we need to secure our borders and do a better job vetting who we allow to enter this country. The atrocity in Paris merely brought added clarity to the issue. The Western world is at war with radical Islam. Period. The United States has throughout history been the most welcoming country to immigrants in the world. But we are a nation and a nation has borders. The state of Tennessee has an absolute right to do what is necessary within the law to protect our borders and our citizens. We need not apologize for it
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