Republicans target Syrian refugees already resettled in U.S.

Some states are not only resisting new Syrian refugees after the terrorist attacks in Paris last week, they want to scrutinize those already resettled within their borders.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican who just scuttled a presidential run, ordered police to monitor 14 Syrians “to avert threats.”

Republican Gov. Nathan Deal of Georgia told the state Emergency Management Agency to confirm that 59 recently arrived Syrian refugees “do not pose a public safety risk.”

Tennessee State Rep. Glen Casada, that state's House Republican caucus chairman, is calling for new arrivals to be re-screened for terrorist links.

As the Republican-controlled House voted to tighten screening of refugees and President Barack Obama reiterates plans to admit at least 10,000 Syrians next year, the focus on those already vetted is prompting advocates to condemn the action and question its legality.

“They're legally here,” said Melanie Nezer of HIAS, a Jewish nonprofit group that works with refugees and who also is chairwoman of Refugee Council USA in Washington.

“Because of your race or your nationality or your religion, we’re going to monitor you, you are a threat? That's very disturbing and completely un-American.”

Almost a third of the nation's governors – all but one Republican – have said they would refuse to resettle refugees or have called on the Obama administration not to admit them without a review of vetting procedures.

Governors can affect the resettlement process only by refusing to cooperate, said Kathleen Newland, co-founder of the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute in Washington. However, they can activate their own agencies once people have arrived.

In Louisiana, Jindal ordered departments to use “all lawful means to prevent the resettlement.”

He also said that when state police receive information about Syrians already relocated in the state, they are to “monitor and avert threats.”

The law enforcement agency has no mechanism for tracking or monitoring refugees, Lt. J.B. Slaton said. Officials met with representatives from Catholic Charities, which handles resettlement and plans to keep communications open, he said.

Fear had been mounting in Louisiana even before Jindal’s order, after several blogs reported that 10,000 Syrians had arrived in New Orleans. In fact, only 14 were resettled in Louisiana this year, according to federal data.

One recent refugee moved to Washington to be with relatives, according to David Aguillard, director of Catholic Charities in Baton Rouge.

Sen. David Vitter, a Republican running to succeed Jindal in an election Saturday, sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday saying Louisiana had a missing Syrian.

“A Syrian refugee placed just this week in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has already gone missing,” Vitter wrote, in a letter that implied the man was being sought by police.

None of this was true, according to Slaton and Aguillard.

The refugee had filled out relocation paperwork and is being assisted by organizations in his new home, Aguillard said.

“This happens all the time with refugees,” he said. “They fill out an application to relocate. Homeland Security tracks them. It got twisted into a refugee missing from Baton Rouge. Just because a person leaves our diocese doesn't mean they're missing.”

On Wednesday, with that tale debunked, the state Republican Party sent out an email labeled “MISSING: Unmonitored Syrian refugee last seen in Baton Rouge.” It urged a vote for Vitter and included a link for donations.

Meanwhile, Catholic Charities was besieged with callers, including some making explicit threats against Syrians, Aguillard said.

In Georgia, Deal ordered the Emergency Management Agency into action.

“Until the federal government and Congress conducts a thorough review of current screening procedures and background checks, we will take every measure available to us at the state level to ensure the safety of Georgians,” the governor said in a statement.

Catherine Howden, a spokeswoman for the agency, declined to comment on how it is implementing the order.

Tennessee's Casada, a Republican from Franklin, said recent arrivals “need to be looked at.” The National Guard could remove those suspected of terrorism, he said.

“We have to know who's with us and who's against us,” Casada said. “Do we be politically correct, or do we save lives and prevent friends and family from being murdered by the Islamic terrorists?”

Republican Gov. Bill Haslam doesn't support Casada's proposal, spokesman Dave Smith said.

“If we abandon our values by completely shutting our doors to those who seek the freedom we enjoy or mistreating our neighbors who made it here after enduring unimaginable hardships, the terrorists win,” Smith said in an email.

This story was originally published November 19, 2015 at 2:31 PM with the headline "Republicans target Syrian refugees already resettled in U.S.."