The U.S. Department of Agriculture has ordered Georgia to process food stamp applications for Syrian refugees, warning that not doing so would be a direct violation of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008.
"As long as an applicant submits a SNAP application that includes the applicant's name, address, and signature, the state agency must accept and process the application to be in compliance with federal law," Jessica Shahin of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) wrote to Bobby Cagle, director of the George Division of Family and Children Services, which administers food stamps in the state, according to Breitbart.
The letter was in response to a Nov. 16 executive order issued by Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican, instructing state agencies not to cooperate with President Barack Obama's Syrian refugee resettlement program.
The Obama administration hopes to bring 10,000 Syrian refugees to the United States over the next year and says states are obligated to provide accommodation. However, 28 governors still refuse to cooperate in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris because they believe the U.S.'s vetting process is not thorough enough to ensure terrorists cannot sneak in disguised as refugees. Georgia is apparently the only state to actually go as far as to deny refugees food stamps.
Shahin demanded that Georgia lawmakers "rescind this memorandum" banning refugees from receiving SNAP benefits and "cease this practice immediately."
The federal government could withhold administrative funding from states that don't cooperate, though Shahin's letters do not make any specific threats.
Deal has not yet responded to the letter, and the Georgia Department of Human Services said it is currently reviewing the request, reports The Huffington Post.
More than 54 percent of Americans say they oppose taking in refugees, while another 52 percent say they are not confident that the Obama administration's vetting process is good enough to prevent terrorists from sneaking in, according to a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll.
Each refugee will cost taxpayers $64,370 during their first five years living in the U.S. - 12 times what it would cost to resettle them in a neighboring Middle Eastern country, according to a report from the Center for Immigration Studies.
