{"id":22265,"date":"2019-12-04T06:54:09","date_gmt":"2019-12-04T11:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/?p=22265"},"modified":"2020-02-21T06:46:49","modified_gmt":"2020-02-21T11:46:49","slug":"refugee-resettlement-virginia-immigrationreform-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2019\/12\/04\/refugee-resettlement-virginia-immigrationreform-com\/","title":{"rendered":"Virtue signaling: The last refuge of Virginia\u2019s Governor Northam"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Buoyed by his party\u2019s recent state election victory, Virginia\u2019s Democratic Governor Ralph Northam decided to thumb his nose at President Trump by volunteering to take in more refugees. The move echoes the actions of former Massachusetts governor (and recent Democratic presidential candidate) Deval Patrick<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Governor Northam was responding to President Trump\u2019s Executive Order 13888<\/a>. Interestingly, the presidential order was dated September 26, but Northam waited two months (until November 25) to respond and roll out the welcome mat for more refugees. Could this have had anything to do with Virginia\u2019s state election, which took place on November 5?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EO 13888 stated that the federal government will not\nresettle refugees in jurisdictions in which either the state or local\ngovernments have objected to new refugee resettlement under the Department of\nState\u2019s Reception and Placement Program (RPP). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a welcome departure from President Obama\u2019s policy<\/a> of ignoring the objections of state governors and local communities to the influx of new refugees. Respecting the views of various states and localities is also consistent with the spirit of American federalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his letter, Northam stated that his purpose<\/a> was to \u201creaffirm Virginia\u2019s position that we welcome refugee resettlement in the Commonwealth,\u201d and then proceeded to lecture Secretary of State Michael Pompeo about the shortcomings of U.S. refugee policy \u2013 despite the fact that neither Northam, nor any other state governor, plays any role in determining how many refugees the U.S. will accept and what countries they should come from. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Virginia governor also bemoaned President Trump\u2019s\nactions to increasingly scale down \u2013 due primarily to national security and\nterrorism concerns \u2013 the numbers of refugees resettled in the U.S. in general,\nand Virginia in particular. However, he emphasized that \u201cwe have the capacity\nto accept and help more refugees than we currently have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether Virginia has more \u201ccapacity\u201d to take in more\nrefugees is debatable. In fact, the Commonwealth resettled essentially the same\nnumber of refugees as a percentage of its population as more populous states\nlike California and Texas \u2013 .002 percent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Northam also stated that \u201cbecause of our proximity to\nWashington, D.C., we are a preferred location\u201d for many refugees. However, that\nproximity to the nation\u2019s capital also creates security concerns \u2013 something\nwhich the governor failed to discuss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, why are the preferences of refugees \u2013 who are receiving both the benefits of a new life in a safe, secure democracy and thousands of dollars of taxpayer assistance \u2013 more important than the needs of Americans? After all, suburban Northern Virginia is already facing many of the problems<\/a> associated with urban\/suburban sprawl, including: a high cost of living, high rents, heavy traffic, and overcrowded public schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why not fix those problems first, before volunteering to take on the additional costs of resettling more refugees in the commonwealth? Perhaps because, as Michelle Malkin demonstrates in her latest book, Open Borders Inc.<\/a><\/em>, refugee resettlement is big business and many participating volunteer organizations (VOLAGs) stand to rake in a lot of taxpayer money. That is one major reason why the \u201crefugees welcome\u201d crowd prefers to resettle refugees in Western nations rather than to help them in neighboring countries, despite the fact that the latter option is much more cost-effective and can help approximately ten times<\/a> as many people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cynics would probably suggest that Governor Northam is\nattempting to rebuild his reputation \u2013 which was tarnished earlier this year\nwhen a page from his 1984 medical school yearbook surfaced, showing a man in \u201cblack\nface\u201d accompanied by another man wearing a KKK hood and robe. In any case, his\nletter to Secretary Pompeo is a prime example of \u201cvirtue signaling\u201d by taking\n\u201ccheap shots\u201d at the Trump administration. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Buoyed by his party\u2019s recent state election victory, Virginia\u2019s Democratic Governor Ralph Northam decided to thumb his nose at President Trump by volunteering to take in more refugees. The move echoes the actions of former Massachusetts governor (and recent Democratic presidential candidate) Deval Patrick. Governor Northam was responding to President Trump\u2019s Executive Order 13888. Interestingly,<\/p>\n

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