Tarrant County Spits in Governor Abbott’s Face by Voting for More Refugees
Jose Nino
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Robert Montoya of Texas Scorecard reported on the Tarrant County commissioners court’s decision to approve refugee resettlement.
On a unanimous vote, the Tarrant County commissioners approved the acceptance of refugees in complete defiance of Governor Greg Abbott’s decision to no longer resettle refugees in Texas.
Back in September 2019, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 13888, which gave state and local government the power to opt out of refugee resettlement programs within their jurisdiction “to the maximum extent consistent with law.”
A few months letter, Abbott sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, citing the opt-out clause.
“Texas has carried more than its share in assisting the refugee resettlement process and appreciates that other states are available to help with these efforts,” Abbott stated.
Tarrant County commissioners countered Abbott’s decision on January 14, 2020.
“I think that we as a state are big enough, our hearts are big enough, to accept refugees,” Precinct 1 Commissioner Roy Charles Brooks said Tuesday as he called for a vote on the county to allow refugees. Brooks was also concerned that Abbott’s decision may lead to the end of federal funding for refugees who were previously resettled in Tarrant County.
“We need those federal dollars,” he stated.
Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley was worried about what could happen if commissioners didn’t act quickly and if Abbott had a change of heart or the courts overrule him. “If we don’t do something at this point in time, it particularly could exclude Tarrant County from being eligible to receive refugees,” Whitley said.
He mentioned that refugees are not in the same category as illegal immigrants. Precinct 2 Commissioner Devan Allen was in agreement with Whitley and seconded Brooks’ motion to vote on resettlement. “We’re listed in the state as high up there with counties that have many refugees settled here,” she during last Tuesday’s meeting. “Refugees are legal immigrants.”
The vote was approved unanimously.
The day after the Tarrant County commissioners court’s vote, U.S. District Judge Pete Messitte of Maryland issued a nationwide injunction against President Trump’s executive order. Now, the fate of Trump’s refugee resettlement executive order will be decided in the courts.
Governor Abbott stands out among weak-kneed Republican governors who have been drinking the mass migration Kool-Aid.
Too bad, the D.C. kritarchy is throwing a wrench in Abbott’s plans keep Texas from turning into a mass migration cesspool.
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