http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/state-dept.-refugees-can-go-wherever-they-want-to-go/article/2576597?custom_click=rssState Dept.: Refugees can go 'wherever they want to go'
By Pete Kasperowicz (@PeteKDCNews) • 11/17/15 7:04 PM
The State Department said Tuesday that it believes state governors have little say over whether they will house refugees from Syria or anywhere else in the world, and that once they arrive, refugees can choose to live in any state they want.
"They can ultimately choose wherever they want to go," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters.
The question of refugee rights has come up as many governors have said they would refuse people from Syria, over fears that members of the Islamic State may try to slip in posing as refugees. One of the Paris attackers entered France that way.
The Obama administration has said it would make no changes to its plan to take up to 10,000 Syrian refugees this year. Toner said under current law, any refugee who land in the U.S. is "protected by the Constitution and federal law."
Refugees must apply to be permanent residents, but the are able to live where they want.
"He or she is also free to move anywhere in the country, although certain state benefits may be available to the refugees only in the state of resettlement," he said. "So, pick your state, wherever he or she may be resettled in, if they decide to leave that state, it may affect ... some of the funding that they get from that state."
Toner said the federal government works with various groups around the country to recommend and "coordinate" placement for refugees.
"Working with these local groups or local NGOs throughout the country, we try to, frankly, balance a multitude of factors on where are the best place," he said.
But he said if a state objects to placement decisions, there's little they can do other than to refuse federal funding aimed at helping to defray the costs.
"They wouldn't have access to that funding," he said.
Legal experts have said they agree that there's little states can do to stop the federal government from placing refugees in their states, even if they disagree.
