County council passes anti-refugee resolution
The York County Council now is officially on record opposing any resettlement of refugees in South Carolina in the foreseeable future and requesting veto power for the county over spending state or local funds to assist refugees. The resolution approved by the council is a victory for ignorance, hysteria and cold-heartedness.
The resolution, written by county attorney Michael Kendree and approved by the council Monday on a 4-3 vote, offers a consoling clause that urges residents to reject religious discrimination against “legitimate war displaced refugees.” It also asked residents to join the council in praying for the U.S. military and those harmed by “cowardly terrorists.”
But the resolution remains a mean-spirited document, asking the federal government to delay any resettlement of refugees to this country “until the U.S. borders and immigration procedures are secure and the safety of our citizens is certain.” It also states that “federal officials have represented that there is not a proper screening procedure in place to ensure that those who may enter this country are not members of ISIS or other terrorist groups.”
This is a rhetorical dodge. We’re not sure who those “federal officials” are who claim the screening process for refugees is insufficient, but the charge is dubious.
The screening process is as thorough as any used to vet non-citizens from entering the United States. It involves intensive questioning by agents of the FBI, the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense and other agencies, and often takes up to two years to complete.
The York County resolution also asks the impossible: It demands that the government guarantee the absolute security of our borders and the certainty that our citizens will be safe. No government can guarantee either one of those things absolutely.
Any attempt to ensure that no terrorists ever enter the U.S. and that all citizens are safe would require the type of draconian, undemocratic, invasive policies that Americans would never tolerate. And even if those policies could be put in place, they would not guarantee our safety either.
And even if all refugees, foreign workers, students and tourists could be barred from entering this country, we still would be at risk from resident terrorists armed to the teeth with military-style weapons and homemade bombs. The resolution did not mention them.
This document was aimed solely at foreign refugees, including those who have genuinely suffered at the hands of the terrorists, who fear for their lives if they stay in their home countries, who risked death on the journey to countries where they often are herded by the hundreds of thousands into containment camps. They need to wait until our borders are absolutely secure and our citizens are completely safe – a day that will never come – for our help, as the York County Council sees it.
The Rev. Sam McGregor with Allison Creek Presbyterian Church was the only member of the public to speak against the resolution at Monday’s meeting. He noted that Jesus was a “Middle Eastern refugee” fleeing the tyranny of King Herod.
That is worth remembering this holiday season.
Council members Britt Blackwell, Christi Cox, Michael Johnson and William “Bump” Roddey voted for the resolution. Bruce Henderson voted against it, but only because he thought it didn’t go far enough.
We commend Councilmen Chad Williams and Robert Winkler for voting against the resolution.
“I’m going to vote against this because I don’t want people to think York County voted for that,” Williams said Monday.
Sadly, however, it did.
This story was originally published December 22, 2015 at 5:59 PM with the headline "County council passes anti-refugee resolution."