The Refugee resetllement issue: Does the Governor have the authority to speak for the State?

Governor Bill Lee has chosen for Tennessee to accept refugees for resettlement in Tennessee. He has come under severe criticism from many Republican for this decision. I tend to support his decision simply because I think it the right thing to do. I know there is an issue of cost and I know that some refugees have been radicalized and become American terrorist. There is a security issue.  Nevertheless, with over 66 million people in the world displaced due to persecution, war and violence, the US should do its part to help resettle refugees.

Separate from  the merits of the decision itself  however, is the question of process. Does a governor have the authority to make this decision for the State?  David Fowler, chairman of FACT, in an article, "What to Make of Congressman Green’s Prescription for Saving America," argues that  the governor should not have that authority and that it is a violation of State sovereignty for the Federal government to assign such authority to the governor.  "The state’s constitution, not the federal government, decides who is to exercise certain powers belonging to the state", says Fowler. He goes on:

When the federal government creates a program and then designates who in state government can decide whether to participate in that program, who on behalf of state government can opt-out of a program already begun, or who or what agency in state government must carry out the federal program, an important aspect of state sovereignty is trampled on. Therein lies the problem with the federal refugee resettlement program, quite apart from the complained of fiscal issues.

…..The federal regulation allowing a governor to decide whether to opt in or out of a federal program is not within the federal government’s power. It is a violation of the state’s power to decide what branch of state government, state agency, or state official is authorized, under the state’s constitution, to make certain types of decisions for the state. The same can be said about the process that allows a governor to “consent” to the federal government’s use of private contractors as de facto resettlement agencies.

After the program was created and states opted in, the federal government adopted regulations that effectively allowed a governor or the governor’s designee to opt a state out of the federal refugee resettlement program. That regulation violates the sovereignty of the people of Tennessee, who alone get to decide who in state government should make policy decisions of this nature. 

While I support Governor Lee's decision, I agree with David Fowler that Lee he had no legitimate authority to make that decision. For a more detailed explanation of the issue of federalism and the principle of dual sovereign and background information on the refugee resetlement progarm follow this link and read the full article.

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