Tennessee legislature moves a step closer to
filing states’ rights lawsuit on refugee program, by Ann Corcoran 2/19/16
All over the
country, ‘Pockets of Resistance,’ are forming to oppose the heavy-handed (secretive and costly) UN/US State
Department Refugee Admissions Program.
Tennesseans get
kudos for being among the first to be recognized as resisters by the federal government as I
learned here at a 2013 meeting the Office of Refugee Resettlement held in Lancaster,
PA. Now, the legislature itself may be on the cusp of striking a real blow for
states’ rights.
The state of
Tennessee is one step closer to filing a Tenth Amendment lawsuit in federal
court to end the United States Refugee Resettlement program in that state.
Think about it!
Private citizens heading up non-governmental organizations: Holly Johnson
(left) of Catholic Charities TN and Jan Reeves of Idaho’s Janus Inc. call the
shots, along with the feds, about how much state taxpayers must shell out for
refugee programs. You know it’s unconstitutional!
The Finance,
Ways & Means Committee of the State Senate overwhelmingly passed Senate
Joint Resolution 467 in a bi-partisan nine to one vote.
The resolution
now goes to the State Senate floor, where it is likely to pass, then on the
State House, where it is also likely to pass.
In Tennessee, the state legislature (called
the General Assembly) has the authority to file this lawsuit, which may prevail
in the courts on Tenth Amendment grounds, if Republican Governor Bill Haslam
fails to act.
The resolution
was filed in the State Senate by Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey a little less than a
month ago on January 22, and has moved quickly through the legislative process.
Unlike previous
lawsuits filed by Texas and Alabama, which were not brought on 10th amendment
grounds, this lawsuit could result in a victory. Such a victory would not
prohibit refugees settled in other states by the Obama administration from
entering the state of Tennessee. It would, however, prevent the State
Department from settling those refugees initially in Tennessee under any
circumstances, since such settlement requires the state of Tennessee to pay, in
part, for their upkeep.
“Wilson-Fish alternative program” states
including Tennessee and eleven others (Alaska, Alabama, Colorado, Idaho,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, South Dakota, North Dakota, and
Vermont) who have opted
out of the US Refugee Resettlement program have a strong 10th amendment suit
against the federal government to stop the program in their states since it is
“an unfunded mandate,” proponents of the resolution argue.
“In 2012, the
Supreme Courte ruled in the now famous NFIB v Sebelius case in that case the
Supreme Court said ‘a state cannot be compelled or coerced to participate in a
federal program for which it has chosen not to participate.’
By the way,
most people outside of Tennessee are shocked to learn that the state
(especially Nashville) is a prime resettlement site for refugees seeded there
by Catholic Charities in conjunction with the federal government.
Readers get moving! For all of you in Wilson Fish states***,
you must work to persuade your governor (or state legislature in some cases) to
get on board with a 10th Amendment lawsuit ready to file at the Thomas More Law Center. You ask me all the
time, what can I do. Well, if you are a citizen in one of these states this is
something you can do!
Alaska, Alabama,
Colorado, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, South Dakota,
North Dakota, Tennessee and Vermont
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