Gov. Scott Walker (Photo: WRN)
Governor Scott Walker is telling federal officials he will work to keep Syrian refugees from being settled in Wisconsin.
In a letter to US Secretary of State John Kerry and the secretary of Health and Human Services released Tuesday, Walker cites deep concerns about the federal refugee resettlement program’s security procedures. “This deficiency in the program poses a threat to the safety and security of our people. At this time, I cannot authorize the cooperation of our state in any efforts to resettle Syrian refugees in Wisconsin,” Walker said.
The governor also indicated he has issued a directive to the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families to not participate in resettlement efforts. He said “Our state will not facilitate the coordination or provision of benefits or services for individuals whose presence could pose a potential risk to our people. We will make all efforts to ensure that Syrian refugees are not resettled within the boundaries of our state.”
The letter comes a day after Walker and several other Republican governor’s publicly stated they would work to keep refugees out of their states, even though some experts have indicated there’s little they can do to actually stop that from happening.