Texas Becomes First State In Nation To Deny Refugee Resettlement Under Trump’s New Order

Texas is now the first state in the nation to no longer accept refugees.

On Friday, Gov. Greg Abbott sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo, stating that he is no longer allowing refugees to resettle in the state this year. The move comes after #DonaldTrump’s Sept. 26 executive order for states and cities to provide written consent to allow refugees to resettle within their areas, Star-Telegram reports.

Over 40 governors across the nation have opted to allow refugees to relocate, making Texas the first to ban it. Since Abbott’s decision, many refugee agencies have spoken out against his decision mentioning that Texas resettles the largest number of refugees, a point Abbott noted in his letter also.

“Since FY2010, more refugees have been received in Texas than in any other state. In fact, over that decade, roughly 10% of all refugees resettled in the United States have been placed in Texas,” the letter reads. He says Texas has been “left by Congress to deal with disproportionate migration issues resulting from a broken federal immigration system.”

According to Abbott, 100,000 migrants were apprehended crossing the Texas-Mexico border in May 2019, and individuals from 52 countries were apprehended in Texas in June 2019, which have become “consequences” that Texas now has to deal with.

“At this time, the state and non-profit organizations have a responsibility to dedicate available resources to those who are already here, including refugees, migrants, and the homeless — indeed, all Texans,” Abbott wrote. “As a result, Texas cannot consent to initial refugee resettlement for FY2020.” Abbott added that he understands refugees who are already settled in other states may move to Texas at a later date. He also acknowledges Fort Worth’s decision to allow refugees.

“We will continue to advocate on behalf of refugees in Fort Worth, while also working with Governor Abbott and other state leaders to reiterate the importance of Texas being a welcoming state,” said Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price in a statement on Friday. Price urged Abbott to make the same move.

Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, the president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, said she was “incredibly disappointed but not altogether shocked.”

“What this decision did was take away local authority from counties and cities to make their own individual determination, which is tragic because there are so many congregations and communities that do care for a variety of reasons — deeply and passionately — about welcoming refugees,” Vignarajah said. “This feels very heavy-handed.”