Ducey seeks halt of refugee placements in Arizona

PHOENIX — Citing the “horrifying events in Paris,” Gov. Doug Ducey wants the federal government to immediately halt placement of new refugees in Arizona.

In a prepared statement Monday, Ducey cited a provision of federal law that he said entitles him to “immediate consultation by federal authorities” of plans to resettle any refugees in the state. He also demanded the federal government “take into account the concerns and recommendations of the state of Arizona as they are required to under federal law, in our efforts to keep our homeland safe.”

Ducey is one of several governors, virtually all of them Republicans, who are taking similar action. Some even have issued executive orders banning the resettlement of refugees within their states.

But gubernatorial press aide Daniel Scarpinato essentially conceded that Ducey has no real right to demand there be no new refugees sent here. Instead, he said, all the governor can do is demand to be heard.

“We’re invoking our state’s rights under the law stated for an immediate consultation by federal authorities under the Refugee Act,” Scarpinato said. “And until that time, the governor is calling on them to halt the placement of new refugees in Arizona.”

Ducey, however, is hoping for more power in the future. In his statement, the governor said he wants federal legislation to give states “greater oversight and authority in the administration of the placement of refugees.”

Ducey said he was driven to this decision by the series of terrorist attacks in France.

“These acts serve as a reminder that the world remains at war with radical Islamic terrorists,” the governor said. “Our national leaders must react with the urgency and leadership that every American expects to protect our citizens.”

In seeking to halt the flow of refugees, Ducey is not limiting his demand solely to those coming from Syria or the Middle East.

“This is aimed at ensuring that there are no refugees in the state of Arizona who have connections to terrorist organizations,” Scarpinato said.

“And until we have assurance of that, he’s calling for an immediate halt of all refugees.”

And Scarpinato said Ducey was not following the lead of several GOP presidential contenders who proposed that, in the wake of the Paris attacks, preference be given to Christian refugees. That suggestion was termed “shameful” by Obama, speaking Monday at the G20 summit in Turkey.

The statements by Ducey and the other governors are unlikely to have any impact on the plans by the president to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees this coming year.

Earlier Monday, even before Ducey’s announcement, Obama said the Paris attacks have not changed his mind.

“Slamming the door in their faces would be a betrayal of our values,” he said during the remarks in Turkey. And the State Department said later Monday it had no plans to alter that commitment.

Scarpinato, however, said his boss remains convinced that the Obama administration needs to take a second look.

“We had a very serious terrorist attack in Paris on Friday, and we need to be taking steps to ensure that Arizona is safe,” he said. “And the governor believes that our national leaders should be doing the same thing.”

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Ducey’s demand drew derision from Sen. Steve Farley, D-Tucson, the No. 2 Democrat in the state Senate.

“I believe the governor is empowering terrorists by forbidding any refugees from coming to our state,” he said. Farley said that only plays into the hands of terrorists, dividing Americans from one another, especially those who are Muslim.

“The fact is, these refugees that he’s banning from Arizona are running away from these terrorists that are attacking in Paris,” he said, people whose homes were bombed and relatives killed by the Islamic State.

And Craig Thoresen, executive director of Refugee Focus, said he was saddened by the actions taken by Ducey and the other governors.

“The program is the best of America, the best we can offer,” said Thoresen whose organization helps resettle refugees in the Phoenix and Tucson areas. “And to see it politicized and used (in this way) is really unfortunate.”

Thoresen said that, in citing the Paris attacks, Ducey fails to realize the sharp difference between the refugee situation here versus what is occurring in France and the rest of Europe.

“There have been hundreds of thousands, millions of refugees who have come to the United States in a very carefully orchestrated process of vetting overseas, multiple security checks,” he said.

Thoresen cited his organization’s recent placement of a Syrian family of eight in Arizona. He said they had been waiting in a refugee camp in Jordan for three years while the necessary background checks were made.

“That’s different than what you saw in Europe,” with huge numbers of refugees simply walking across borders.

“Those people were not vetted,” he continued.

He said there’s no basis for the governor’s complaint and effort to halt refugees.

“His action is based on a lot of misinformation and a lot of fear,” Thoresen said.

In the last fiscal year, Arizona admitted 3,925 refugees, about 6 percent of the 70,000 refugees allowed into the country each year. Of those where the country of origin is listed, the largest share come from Somalia, followed by Myanmar.

There were, however, 138 from Syria.

Since 1975, according to state records, Arizona has admitted 74,762 refugees, or about 2.3 percent of the 3.3 million allowed into the country.

Syrian refugees to Arizona since 1975 total 173.