PANEL TOMORROW: Should States Be Able to Opt Out of the Refugee Resettlement Program?
WASHINGTON, March 19, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Center for Immigration Studies will host a panel discussion tomorrow, Tuesday, March 20, focusing on the Refugee Resettlement Program and its impact on states and localities. The starting point for conversation will be the recent report by Center Fellow Don Barnett providing a history of the states' interactions with the refugee program and recommendations for better defining the state role.
The Center will be live streaming the event via Facebook Live, which can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/CenterforImmigrationStudies/videos/10157245637883102/.
Even if states withdraw from the refugee resettlement program, the federal government simply pays private organizations to settle refugees in those states, generating the same costs to be borne by state taxpayers. Richard Thompson of the Thomas More Law Center will discuss the lawsuit his center filed on behalf of the state of Tennessee challenging the continuation of refugee resettlement in states that have withdrawn from the program.
Jeff Johnson, a member of the St. Cloud, Minn., City Council, will speak to the impact of refugee resettlement program at the local level.
WHAT: Panel discussion on the federal-state relationship regarding refugees
WHEN: Tuesday, March 20, 2018, at 9:30 a.m.
WHERE: National Press Club, Bloomberg Room, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor, Washington, D.C.
WHO:
DON BARNETT
Barnett, a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies and widely published on refugee resettlement and asylum issues, will present his recent publication, "Do States Have a Say in the Refugee Resettlement Program?"
RICHARD THOMPSON
Thompson is the President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, which filed a lawsuit challenging constitutionality of the federal refugee resettlement program.
JEFF JOHNSON
Johnson has served on the St. Cloud, Minn., City Council for seven years. He recently introduced a resolution calling for a moratorium on refugee resettlement in St. Cloud pending clarification of the fiscal impact.
MARK KRIKORIAN, Moderator
Executive Director, Center for Immigration Studies
Contact: Marguerite Telford
202-466-8185, [email protected]
SOURCE Center for Immigration Studies
News published on and distributed by:
