Missouri Republican leaders call hearing on Syrian refugees

The top House and Senate leaders have called a joint hearing for Nov. 30 to review programs that could be used to provide assistance for refugee resettlement in Missouri.

The House Budget and Senate Appropriations Committee members will hold the joint hearing at 10 a.m. in House hearing room 3.

"Our governor has yet to fully articulate a plan or take a stand on this issue that has generated immense concern from the people of Missouri," House Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, said in a news release. "Our sympathies go out to those who have been impacted by the strife in Syria, but we must place the safety and well-being of Missourians as our top priority."

Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard, R-Joplin, added: "Because of our governor's lack of leadership and this administration's failed federal foreign policies, we will try to find ways to protect the safety and well-being of the citizens of the Show-Me State."

Gov. Jay Nixon declined to comment on the legislators' comments, but said earlier this week: "The screening process for refugees is the responsibility of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and I call on our federal partners to implement the strongest possible safeguards to protect our state and nation."

A number of experts say the Federal Refugee Act of 1980 - signed by then-President Ronald Reagan - gave the president's administration, through the U.S. attorney general, the power to admit additional refugees and grant asylum to them. And it established specific procedures on how to deal with refugees, including how to resettle and assimilate them into U.S. society.

As a federal law, supporters say, the 50 states may not block the resettlement of refugees allowed into the country, because the U.S. Constitution's Supremacy Clause places federal law above state laws.

State Senate GOP spokeswoman Lauren Hieger said Richard's concern with Nixon's leadership "failure" involves "keeping Missouri citizens safe. Under the Federal Refugee Act of 1980, federal authorities are required to "coordinate' closely with state officials in any effort to place foreign refugees within their borders.

"We believe the governor has some options and is refusing to investigate those options," which is why the joint committee members' task is to examine the various programs in the state available for refugee assistance.

Richard said: "While we are compassionate to the victims of the Syrian civil war, our first and most important duty as legislators is to keep our people safe from harm's way."