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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is the only Republican governor so far to stop accepting refugees following President Trump’s executive order that allows state and local governments to block refugee resettlements.
The big picture: While Republicans widely support Trump’s restrictive immigration policies, local and state officials in many states have been unwilling to push out those who have been forced from their homes and gone through stringent vetting processes required to become a U.S. refugee.
- Presidents have previously tried to uplift refugee resettlement programs with “bipartisan pride,” and to generate goodwill domestically and internationally, the Washington Post writes.
- Trump has already capped the number of refugees the U.S. will accept at a historic low of just 18,000 from a high of 110,000 in 2016.
What’s happening: Republican governors of Tennessee, South Dakota, Oklahoma and Nebraska along with others have written letters to the U.S. State Department or publicly announced they will continue accepting refugee resettlements, representing some of the reddest states in the country.
- They join more than two dozen other states that plan to continue taking refugees, according to Axios' compilation of news reports, press releases and public statements.
- Not all states have released their decisions.
Abbott had previously withdrawn Texas from the national refugee resettlement program and sued for the right to block Syrian refugees from settling in the state, the Texas Tribune reports.
- Meanwhile, Austin Mayor Steve Adler and Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price both called on Abbott to continue allowing refugees to settle in Texas.
Both Tennessee and North Dakota have also sued for the right to refuse refugee settlements, but have now both said they plan to continue accepting refugees.
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