Barnett: Trump could take one simple step to give
states back the power to withdraw from the refugee program
Substantial costs have been purposely shifted to state taxpayers over
the years, by Ann Corcoran 3/15/18
By law the president can zero out the quota altogether and a new president could increase it to 200,000 or higher. Before that happens, it may be wise to look at reforming the program.
Prior to 45 CFR 400.301 the states were participating in and paying for
a voluntary program from which they had every right to withdraw at any time
with the expectation that no refugees would be resettled in the state. Repeal
it Donald! Repeal it!
Don Barnett lays it out (what Donald Trump could do virtually
overnight) in the Washington Times on
Tuesday. First some of the background:
When
the Obama administration raised the refugee admission quota for fiscal 2017 to
110,000, New Jersey, Maine, Kansas and Texas formally withdrew from the
resettlement program.
Actually,
this is a program states can never leave. A Clinton-era regulation prevents
states from meaningfully withdrawing from the federal refugee resettlement
program. If history is any guide, those states that left the program are
getting more refugees now than they would have had they stayed in the program.
Yucking it up! Ted and Bill—two of the
main reasons you have refugees secretly placed in your states against the will
of most of the voting public.
The
only reason it is not evident is because the national quota for 2018 was
lowered by the Trump administration to 45,000; the fiscal year will likely end
with a number even smaller than that.
Reform
the law while President Trump is in power, or else!
First
step! At least one reform would
fit in with the president’s goal of putting the federal government back into
its proper constitutional role vis a vis the states.
The
Refugee Act intended to insulate states from program costs. The bill’s Senate
sponsor, Edward Kennedy, noted the program would “assure full and adequate
federal support for refugee resettlement programs by authorizing permanent
funding for state, local and volunteer agency projects.”
Unlike other legal immigrants, refugees are eligible for all federal
welfare programs on the same basis as citizens upon arrival. (This is a
lifetime entitlement for refugees who become citizens.)
Likely
in response to rumblings from state governments about exiting the program, the
Clinton administration promulgated regulation 45 CFR 400.301 in 1994 allowing
resettlement contractors to continue operations in a state
regardless of state objections. This
arrangement allowed private contractors to operate independently with no input
from state government. Regulatory fiat guaranteed that a state could never get
out of the program or escape its fiscal impact on state revenues.
Repeal of 45 CFR 400.301 would have the immediate effect of allowing
states to withdraw from the U.S. refugee resettlement program.
It is the Tenth Amendment stupid! (Off
topic, but don’t you think it’s riot that the state of California is pushing back against the US Justice Department
on immigration using the States’ Rights provision of the Constitution!)
Barnett
wraps up…..
Regulations can be repealed and they can be reissued. A judicial
decision on the Tennessee lawsuit’s principle question on just how far the
federal government can impose on a state’s control over its own resources is
still needed and extends beyond the refugee resettlement program. More here.
Come
on DOJ, get moving on the Tennessee lawsuit, surely AG Sessions knows how
significant this case is!
And,
then as I intone on a regular basis—Where
is Congress?
The
original Refugee Act of
1980 must be dumped and rewritten (if the voters want a
rewrite). And, the window is open now while Trump is in office! Forget the
‘humanitarian’ mumbo-jumbo….
I suspect it is the Republican leadership driven by the Chamber of
Commerce and giant corporations that keep the law from ever being seriously
reviewed by Congress.
Looking for something to do?
Contact
the White House and
tell the President that federal regulation 45 CFR 400.301 violates the Tenth Amendment and
you want him to dump it. Tell him also to get moving with long term
reform to the Refugee
Act of 1980 that set up the present system of paying (on a
per head basis) NGO contractors to place refugees in your towns without notice
or discussion.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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