Updated at 3:30 p.m. with additional states.
Gov. Peter Shumlin said Monday that Vermont will welcome refugees from Syria, and he criticized governors who said they wouldn’t accept them due to security concerns related to the terrorist attack in Paris.
Shumlin said “seven or eight” Syrian refugees are in the process of relocating to Vermont. “The refugees from Syria are no different than the refugees from anywhere else in the world,” Shumlin told reporters. “I would encourage us to do what Vermont has always done … It’s the spirit of all Vermonters to ensure that when you have folks who are drowning, who are dying in pursuit of freedom, that Vermont does its part.”
By Monday afternoon, the governors of 15 states, including New Hampshire and Massachusetts, declared they would seek to either stop accepting or place a moratorium on accepting Syrian refugees, citing security concerns. (The other states are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin.)
“I would say no as of right now,” Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker told reporters, according to the Boston Globe. “No, I’m not interested in accepting refugees from Syria. My view on this is, the safety and security of the people of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is my highest priority. So I would set the bar very high on this.”
Shumlin said Vermont would potentially welcome more Syrians than are currently scheduled to arrive.
“I know Vermont can take more than seven,” Shumlin said during a press conference outside the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington, where he and other officials gathered to tout a recent drop in the state’s inmate population.
He said that other governors who are rejecting the refugees are “stomping on” the values that “make America great.” Shumlin said the vetting process includes reviews by the U.S. State Department. “I have confidence in the process. We have a good screening process,” Shumlin said. “The Refugee Resettlement Program works closely with the State Department.”
The Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program typically resettles 300 to 350 refugees a year.
On Monday, President Barack Obama, who earlier this year authorized the country to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees fleeing a brutal civil war, criticized officials who support a ban.
“Slamming the door in their faces would be against our values,” he said.
Police are said to be investigating a Syrian passport found near where suicide bombers blew themselves up outside a Paris soccer stadium targeted during a series of coordinated attacks.
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For which there was little before, we now have a total suspension of intelligence. What will our ‘talking head in chief’ say to us dopes when the shit hits the fan here?
Suggestion: do not allow anyone in until this country has a total handle on the so called ‘screening process’. Seal the borders.
I agree with the other poster, let ’em live with Shummy…
Why does Shumlin get to decide who comes to Vermont without any local discussion or input? Given the mounting evidence of increased terrorist activity worldwide, I have little faith in our local, state and federal government’s knowledge of terrorists already in the U.S. I’d like to know how refugees are currently screened/vetted. Does the process vary from entry point or is there a formula for acceptance? Maybe resettlement ought to be an issue each municipalities votes on in March by ballots or at town meetings. I am really weary of the government deciding for me who gets to go where and when.
@Susan Hoyt —
They do go through rigorous screening — it takes refugee applicants about two years to be vetted, and the screening for those coming from conflict zones is even longer.
The process for admission is extensive and excludes many.
http://www.state.gov/documents/organizatio…
They Must go thru rigorous screening!!! Or don’t accept them!
This is a nation of immigrants. Almost all of us are either immigrants ourselves or descended from immigrants.
Governor Shumlin, himself descended from immigrants, is doing nothing more than expressing basic American principles. He should be commended for doing so.
Bad idea , why bring these so called refugees 8 thousand miles to America, when there is other Muslim countries closer,.,,ahhh because Muslim Countries wont take them cause ISIS is embedded within this Muslim Invasion. Its crazy to welcome Terrorism into Vermont,at least Vermont has open carry law to protect those who carry….its going to get ugly people our Government bringing terrorism to our homes
If Shumlin wants them here,let them live with him. This is a huge mistake. They shouldn’t come!
Who’s to say they will stay in Vermont. Its not like each state has a border. Apparently. His priorities are for the refugees not Americans.
I have no problem with Vermont taking in some Syrian refugees, but our Hypocrite-in-Chief has no business morally lecturing the rest of America on this issue. He doesn’t trust the NRC, but he trusts the State Dept. The State Dept. has a “good screening process,” says Governor Duplicity. Of course, when he made that statement he didn’t know the first thing about the State Dept.’s screening process. But that doesn’t stop him from saying something he knows absolutely nothing about. Why didn’t you guys in the press immediately ask him to describe that “screening process”?
It takes 1 year to vet an American for top secret status with all that is at our disposal. So where are they getting the information to vet these people? Even Government heads (FBI) are saying we are not vetting them so how can we make sure our safety is the number one priority?