Following a legal opinion from Attorney General Sam Olens last week, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal Monday rescinded his executive order which directed state agencies to hold off on processing any new benefit assistance forms for Syrian refugees.
Deal and over twenty other Governors, including Texas’ Greg Abbot, had pushed back against the notion of allowing Syrian refugees into their states following the terror attacks in Paris in November. Those attacks were planned in Syria, and many worry that terrorist agents from the war-torn country would attempt to disguise themselves as refugees and enter into America and other nations.
Unfortunately for Deal and his allies at home, the Federal Government has the last word when it comes to matters of immigration. The 1941 Supreme Court case Hines v. Davidowitz and the Refugee Act of 1980 were two of the high profile cases on which Olens based his legal opinion, leaving the Governor without much of a leg to stand on. By repealing his executive order, state agencies can begin the process of providing food stamps and other benefits to Syrian refugees, some of whom had already arrived in the state last month.
It remains to be seen whether individual states, whether it be Georgia or some like-minded state, will look to regain some power with regards to accepting refugees from foreign countries. Sources tell InsiderAdvantage that the Governor’s office is furious with the Attorney General’s opinion, so even if this chapter is closed for now look for the issue to rear its head going forward.
