Importantly, the resolution recognizes that terrorists could easily use our country’s generous immigration system to carry-out another 9/11-style attack. HCR 31 states, “it is possible that members of the Islamic States of Iraq and Syria, or another radical extremist terrorist organization, could infiltrate the State of Ohio and the United States of America by claiming Syrian refugee status….” Here the Ohio General Assembly admits what the Obama Administration refuses to: that terrorists have used our immigration system to attack us before, and that they will, if we turn a blind eye, use it to do so again.
If only Obama Administration officials shared the same concern and foresight regarding our country’s national security as members of Ohio’s General Assembly, our nation would not be having the debate over whether to admit individuals that it knowingly cannot properly screen. Consequently, the measure underscores the problem and frustration that many state lawmakers are experiencing as they learn there is no mechanism under federal law that expressly grants them control over whether refugees are sent to their state.
HCR 31 passed the Ohio General Assembly by a vote of 65-29, with almost all Republicans supporting the legislation. It now goes to the Ohio Senate for consideration, where the rest of the country will be watching, and hoping, that more states take a stand.