In a conference call Tuesday evening with 34 governors, top White House officials refused to provide several executives with background information about Syrian refugees expected to be settled by the federal government in their states, according to Bloomberg.
The White House initiated the call in response to the 30 governors, mostly Republicans, who have said they will not cooperate with President Obama's plan to resettle Syrian refugees in their states due to terrorism concerns. The governors fear that terrorists may be able to disguise themselves as refugees and slip into the U.S., as some believe the Islamic State group was able to do in Paris, ABC News reported.
On the call, officials from the White House, Department of Homeland Security, State Department, F.B.I. and National Counterterrorism Center fielded questions from 13 of the executives and reassured them that the Syrian refugees would be vetted as thoroughly as possible, according to CNN.
However, administration officials repeatedly refused to provide several Republican governors and two Democrats general details about the Syrian refugees.
"There was a real sense of frustration from all the governors that there is just a complete lack of transparency and communication coming from the federal government," one Republican state official who was on the call told Bloomberg.
New Hampshire's Democratic Governor Maggie Hassan and California's Democratic Governor Jerry Brown joined Republican governors in asking to be notified whenever refugees were resettled in their states. They also requested access to the classified information collected about refugees during the vetting process.
Brown told administration officials that he "favored continuing to admit Syrian refugees but wanted the federal government to hand over information that would allow states to keep track of them," the GOP official told Bloomberg.
White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough told Brown that there is currently no mechanism in place to give states such information and that the administration does not believe it should change the information sharing process regarding refugee resettlements. While the top lawmakers in the states will be left in the dark about refugees entering their states, the non-governmental organizations helping to resettle the refugees would be privy to such information, McDonough said.
Brown noted that state law enforcement agencies are currently conducting investigations into suspected radicals and said that information about incoming Syrian refugees "could help maintain their awareness about potential radicalization," according to Bloomberg. However, McDonough reiterated his confidence in the vetting process and promised to consider Brown's concerns.
Hassan, the other Democratic governor on the call to challenge the administration, had already voiced support for stopping all Syrian refugees from coming to the U.S. and expressed anger that the Obama administration refuses to notify governors when refugees are settled in their jurisdictions.
So far, the following states have refused to accept refugees: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming, according to NPR.
However, the states don't actually have much of a say in the matter. Florida governor Rick Scott asked during the call if states could opt out of accepting Syrian refugees, and McDonough stated flatly that they could not.
The White House said in a statement regarding Tuesday's call: "Administration officials reiterated what the president has made abundantly clear: that his top priority is the safety of the American people. That's why, even as the United States accepts more refugees - including Syrians - we do so only after they undergo the most rigorous screening and security vetting of any category of traveler to the United States."
The White House noted that several governors "expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to better understand the process and have their issues addressed," while "others encouraged further communication" from the administration.
