Concerns Following The Attack On Paris

Statement

Americans watched in horror last week as ISIS launched an attack on one of our closest allies. Families were at the national soccer stadium watching the exhibition match between France and Germany. College students were gathered in cafes. Young people were at a concert hall listening to a California band. An ordinary Friday night in Paris turned deadly when Islamic extremists invaded these spaces and took the lives of more than 100 innocent people.

Following the attack on Paris, Americans are left with legitimate concerns. One of those concerns is the President's plan to accept Syrian refugees. While many of these refugees are seeking to escape terrorism, the sad events in Paris remind us that terrorists can take advantage of refugee programs to gain access to western nations.

Since 2011, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has referred 23,092 Syrians to the U.S. Refugee Program. Of those, the Department of Homeland Security interviewed 7,014, and approved just over 2,000 for admission to the United States. Under the federal Refugee Act of 1980, states do not have a legal role regarding refugees. Governors do not have the authority to ban refugees from their states, or to refuse to accept refugees. These decisions are made by the federal government.

Still, I share the concerns for our national security. That is why I am joining many other governors in calling on the federal government to re-examine our process for background checks of refugee applicants seeking asylum and to reconsider whether the United States should continue to accept refugees at current levels. Sen. Thune, Sen. Rounds and Rep. Noem have also called on the federal government to take these actions.

Ultimately it is very unlikely that any Syrian refugees will be resettled in South Dakota. Our state has not received a single Syrian refugee in the last three years, and has not received notice that it will receive any Syrian refugees. The federal government resettles refugees in places that already have populations of the same nationality or ethnicity, and there is no sizable Syrian population in South Dakota.

On the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty there is a plaque of a well-known poem by Emma Lazarus with a line that reads, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. . ." Those inscribed words near the monument gifted to us by France remind us that the United States is a nation of immigrants that seeks to help those who seek asylum.

In order to continue this tradition of helping the tired and the poor from other nations we must first exercise prudence and be confident that adequate safeguards are in place to protect against terrorism. Our greatest priority as a nation, and my first priority as Governor, is to keep our people safe.

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