Governors vs Obama: No Syrian Refugees!
In a wide spreading protest to the Obama Administrations push for accepting 10,000 Syrian refugees, governors of several states have risen up to state that they will not accept any of the refugees the government sends in.
This is a bold move and questionably legal ramifications that could shake the foundation of the country, but it is due to the fact that the federal government cannot ensure that the refugees won’t be agents of ISIS or other terrorist groups, nor that once here they won’t be compromised by ISIS who still have access to their families back in Syria.
It’s an old game that has undermined the United States for over 200 years. Immigrants, foreigners who are honest and well meaning turned toward crime when criminals in their homeland kidnap their family members and threaten to do harm lest the immigrants engage in crime. It was excellently illustrated in the Francis Ford Coppola classic movie, “The Godfather II”. In one scene, a government witness against the mob recanted his sworn testimony when the Mafia showed him they had his brother in custody. It’s an old, underhanded and dirty trick, but is in full flower to this day.
That’s just one of the major risks. There are far more and these governors protesting are arm in arm and determined to stand their ground. So far Florida, Ohio, Illinois, Arizona, Massachusetts, Indiana, Louisiana, Alabama, Michigan, Arkansas, and of course Texas, have raised their sabers and said no to the refugees. Of note, these are all Republican states and if any Democratic states join in, it will be a major embarrassment, a sign of lack of confidence in Obama and a boost the Republican presidential agendas for 2016.
Some governors like Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal have signed executive orders to prevent relocation of the refugees to his state. Confusion as to what is legal or not is being bandied about and the issue is being rushed to Congress to try to sort things out.
This issue is now going to dominate the Republican’s attacks on Obama. The public wants to see a strong president who can dish out the defense and punishment, not waver between ideology and potential imminent and real danger. Obama is going to have to tuck in his shirt and acquiesce to the real concerns of the public that already have no confidence in the federal government’s ability to protect its borders considering how haphazard the illegal immigration situation is.
