News just broke that the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Indiana Gov. Mike Pence’s attempt to block the resettlement of Syrian refugees in his state, saying the effort “was based on ‘no evidence’ and constituted ‘nightmare speculation.’”
In a unanimous opinion, the three judges highlighted the baseless security claims behind the governor and vice-presidential candidate’s plans: “Indeed, as far as can be determined from public sources, no Syrian refugees have been arrested or prosecuted for terrorist acts or attempts in the United States.”
Security. This was the primary theme of statements made by more than half of all U.S. governors late last year (shortly after the Paris terrorist attacks) expressing fear over allowing refugees into their states. The idea of security — or lack thereof — is also central to more recent statements, including an announcement from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in which he declared that Texas will exit the refugee resettlement program entirely.
Refugees are the most thoroughly vetted people to enter the United States. As The Economist wrote in October 2015, “If a potential terrorist is determined to enter America to do harm, there are easier and faster ways to get there than by going through the complex refugee resettlement process.”
Nearly 785,000 refugees have been admitted to the U.S. since 9/11. Of that number, “only about a dozen — a tiny fraction of one percent of admitted refugees — have been arrested or removed from the U.S. due to terrorism concerns that existed prior to their resettlement in the U.S. None of them were Syrian,” said a spokesperson from the Department of State.
Before continuing, it is important to fully understand that statement. Of the 785,000 refugees resettled in the U.S. in the past fifteen years, .001% have been arrested or removed for “terrorism concerns,” meaning anything from attempting to provide material or financial support to an organization linked to terrorism to conspiring to, but not committing, actual violence in the U.S. And a reminder: none of them were Syrian.
A lot of refugee-serving organizations — and advocates, allies, former refugees — have chosen to focus recent advocacy efforts on sending a welcoming message, on highlighting the success stories of resettled refugees, and on trying to shame governors with their own supposed values — Texas values, American values, Christian values. Addressing “security concerns” is difficult territory, because .001% is not 0%. We feel pressured to paint a picture of refugees not only as upstanding citizens, but as the mostupstanding citizens. In doing so, we risk contributing to this ridiculous notion, put forth by over half our nation’s governors, that it is possible for us to be 100% secure.
If we actually expect our governors to guarantee our safety, we might want to focus our attention not on the resettlement of Syrian refugees — something with no evidence of danger — but on the very real dangers faced by citizens of states across the country every day.
On refugees, Idaho Governor Butch Otter said, “I am duty-bound to do whatever I can to protect the people of Idaho from harm.” Governor Asa Hutchinson explained that he could not support Syrians resettling in Arkansas, as it “poses risk to Arkansans.” Iowa Governor Terry Brandstad said his stance against resettlement was in order to “maintain the safety of Iowans and the security of our state.”
For governors who claim to care deeply about the safety of their citizens, they (and their families) sure do contribute a lot of risk. Gov. Otter was convicted of DUI in 1993. Gov. Hutchinson’s son has had three DWI arrests. Gov. Brandstad’s son was the driver in a fatal car accident in 1991 in which two people died; two years later, he was involved in another car accident and charged with illegal possession of alcohol. In 2014, 9,967 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes.
In fact, after a brief Internet search, I found that at least 12% of current U.S. governors — those in office right now — have children who have committed crimes that have seriously jeopardized public safety. It’s not just drunk driving. In 2010, Eric Rauner — son of Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, who wants to stop resettling Syrian refugees to “ensure the safety and security of our citizens” — was arrested for trying to rob a Walgreen’s drive-through in Missoula, Montana.
The point here is not to embarrass governors or publicly shame their children. The point is that based on this information alone, these governors and their families are far more dangerous to their states than the Syrian refugees from whom they claim they need to protect us.
Governors driving under the influence is one thing. What about the countless failures that have compromised the safety and well-being of their own citizens? Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder wants to protect his state from refugees, but he failed to protect his citizens from being poisoned by their water. Gov. Rauner’s failure to get a budget passed in Illinois has put critical lifesaving organizations and institutions across the state into financial crisis. Gov. Abbott has failed to protect thousands of children from a broken foster care system “where rape, abuse, psychotropic medication and instability are the norm.”
We can’t let ourselves be seduced by the impossible standard of guaranteed, absolute security, especially at the hands of public officials who can’t even seem to protect us from themselves.
This piece originally appeared on Medium, and has been reprinted with permission.
Photo: UK Department for International Development/Creative Commons