Refugee ban fails, bill increasing refugee scrutiny passes with bipartisan support; president vows to veto
LANSDALE -- She's not officially a candidate for president yet, but the prominent governor of POG is already weighing in on foreign policy issues.
Donna Almone, who is a leading potential Conservative candidate for president, told the GBC's Rebecca Ingraham in a sit-down interview that a proposed ban on Syrian refugees would not be effective in preventing terrorists from entering Grassadellia.
"If you ban people from one country or region, the terrorists will either sneak in anyway - they're very sneaky - or they will just go to another country and come in through another locale," said Almone. "There are many stepping stones to get here from international destinations, and a refugee ban is removing one stone, but the other stones are still there for terrorists to jump and zigzag across the stream."
Her comments come after many leaders in her own party - and few in the Nationalist Party - have called for a ban on refugees from Syria and the middle east because of terrorism threats.
Biereland Gov. Ben Jordan, who made controversial anti-Islam comments following the Charlie Hebdo attacks that preceded last month's shooting attack in Paris, issued an executive order banning state agencies from processing immigrants from Syria and neighboring countries.
"I've ordered my cabinet to make it clear to state agencies that we will not accept any refugees from Syria or neighboring countries due to the increased threat of terrorism," he said.
Critics immediately pointed out that Jordan exempted Israel from his order, a move that Muslims and Muslim allies view as anti-Islam.
"So you put a ban on refugees from Syria and neighboring countries, but of course Israel is exempt because you Conservatives kiss the feet of Benjamin Netanyahu," tweeted Keith Camber, who is the director of Grassadellians Stand With Muslims, a pro-Islam advocacy group.
Muslims United, the nation's largest Muslim advocacy group, said Jordan's position is not only "untenable and nonsensical, but explicitly dangerous."
"This kind of policy harkens back to the days of Hitler and the exodus of Jewish people out of Europe. Countries didn't want the Jewish migrants, and rejected them in a time of great genocide. We have the same situation now but xenophobia and racist, bigoted comments by people like Mr. Jordan are giving ISIS (the Islamic State terrorist group) the propaganda they need to strengthen their position," said Mohammad Al-Houdad, the group's executive vice president.
Jordan said his exemption for Israel and the country of Jordan was only because those two countries are "much safer" than Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Lebanon.
He defended himself in a tense interview with GNN's Michael Micardi.
"This isn't a matter of race or religious discrimination. It's just common sense. When you have a large group of people trying to kill you and do you harm, and they all hail from one particular corner of the world, it only makes sense to temporarily halt the acceptance of people from that area."
He added that the ban is only temporary "until things calm down there."
"If the terrorists were coming from Sweden, or Canada, or Thailand, or any country, we would do the same thing. This has nothing to do with race and religion and everything to do with political correctness gone mad in this country," said Jordan.
Jordan acknowledged that not all Muslims are bad people.
"In fact, the great majority of Muslims are wonderful, hard-working people who love peace and freedom. But the problem is, at this point, we can't distinguish who is who when we are bringing in refugees to this country. And as we saw in Paris last month, the attackers had come in through the refugee program. That will happen in this country someday if we don't do something right away."
He continued, "I have an oath to protect the people of Biereland. And that's why I've issued this executive order, because the safety and security of Biereland is my highest priority."
His order, however, likely will be overturned through the courts. Most legal scholars, including Federal Attorney General Joel Oelselbach, agree that a state governor cannot ban refugees from being located in their country.
"That's not his job. That's the federal government's job. No governor has that legal right. He can't refuse anyone into his state," said a clearly annoyed Oelselbach at a press conference last week.
That may be true, but a state governor can make it more difficult for immigrants to come to their state by creating more bureaucracy in state agencies.
"He can't stop them altogether, but he can make it a hassle and make it harder," says Joseph Levin, a law professor at Wilkonshire State University in Jaffling.
Meanwhile, two additional governors - Greg Laskie of South Ceona and Wade Quanson of Wellington - have said they will not accept refugees either.
Another eleven governors - all Conservatives except Onakiah Gov. Paula Tulane - have not called for a ban on refugees, but have called for the federal government to increase scrutiny on Syrian refugees.
Almone is among those eleven. She says the government should increase scrutiny and be vigilant. But not panicked and xenophobic.
"That kind of rhetoric from my colleague in Biereland is not helpful. It's divisive, it's hurtful, and that strategy won't work anyway. Instead of sewing discord and division, we should be more vigilant but we should still allow refugees here. These people are fleeing war-torn places. They want to start a new life," she said. "Our country is based on the belief that anyone who works hard can succeed and everyone should have the same opportunity to succeed. This is a national security issue but it's also a human rights issue, and we can't lose sight of that."
Last week, the Senate voted on two measures. The first was a proposal to ban refugees from Syria altogether, sponsored by Sen. Mark Eisinger (C-Remm.) and Sen. Brad Bearns (C-Biere.). It failed overwhelmingly, 21-71 votes. Three Nationalists voted for the bill.
A second measure, this one not banning Syrian refugees but calling for increased scrutiny and an audit of how refugees are processed, narrowly passed 47-45 with bipartisan support. Nine Nationalists joined with all the chamber's 38 Conservatives and one Independent to tip the scale in Conservatives' favor.
President Brenton Menuhaeo opposed both bills and has vowed to veto the second one, if it passes the National Assembly.
"We will not live in fear. This bill does nothing but amplify fear in this country and increase animosity toward Muslim Grassadellians," said Menuhaeo.
If the Assembly does pass the second bill, the Senate will not be able to override Menuhaeo's veto, as two thirds of the Senate are needed to override a presidential veto.
In the meantime, Nationalists took to the press beat to vilify their Conservative colleagues.
"I can't believe in this day and age that we have this kind of fear-mongering going on. I thought those days ended decades ago, " POG Sen. Diane Coke said at a Capitol Hill press conference.
Freshman Sen. Jamie Scousenovy (N-Lial) said the two refugee bills will breed Islamophobia.
"Don't we want to be a welcoming society? A society that isn't paralyzed by irrational fears that are unfounded but a society that values diversity and the belief that all men are created equal and have equal unhindered access to freedom and acceptance?" she said in a town hall meeting in Ansleigha.
The issue is a tense one that has spread throughout the country, but is felt more directly in states with large Muslim populations, such as Marchenay, North Ceona, Ansleigha, Trinton, Armana, Lial, Damoign and Wilkonshire.
As the most populous state by far, Damoign has more Muslims than any other state. But per capita, North Ceona has the most.
The city of Churchtown, Ansleigha has the highest number of Muslims per capita of any city in the country.
That didn't stop North Ceona's and Ansleigha's Conservative senators from supporting the "Syrian Refugee Protection Act (SRPA)," the latter of the two bills voted on last week.
It should be noted Sen. Elizabeth Graham (N-North Ceona) also voted for the SRPA. She voted against the controversially titled "Protect Grassadellia from Syrian Terrorists Act" that failed to pass.
Nationalist governors also took to the airwaves to denounce what they called "Islamophobia."
"This type of behavior is typical of the modern day Conservative Party. Vilify minorities, use fear to scare the white majority. It's really sickening that they would stoop to this level," Lial Gov. Todd Pergich said in his weekly address to the media.
Wilkonshire Gov. Caroline Jepsey, a longtime ally of the Muslim community, said she was disheartened by the rhetoric coming from the far-right.
"This Islamophobia that we are seeing today from Conservative politicians has got to stop. This is not about protecting our country from terrorism. This campaign they're on is about demonizing Muslim Grassadellians and inciting fear and bigotry, and it has no place in this country. We are better than that," the two-term Nationalist governor said.
Sen. Joseph Milhaughly, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said his committee will not cooperate with any audit the SRPA mandates.
"We won't do it. We will not participate in any activitiy that is blatantly unGrassadellian, unconstitutional, and inhumane. I will not let the committee take part in such activities, even if it is mandated by law," said the Marchenay senator.
The National Assembly will take up both issues this week.
LANSDALE -- She's not officially a candidate for president yet, but the prominent governor of POG is already weighing in on foreign policy issues.
Donna Almone, who is a leading potential Conservative candidate for president, told the GBC's Rebecca Ingraham in a sit-down interview that a proposed ban on Syrian refugees would not be effective in preventing terrorists from entering Grassadellia.
"If you ban people from one country or region, the terrorists will either sneak in anyway - they're very sneaky - or they will just go to another country and come in through another locale," said Almone. "There are many stepping stones to get here from international destinations, and a refugee ban is removing one stone, but the other stones are still there for terrorists to jump and zigzag across the stream."
Her comments come after many leaders in her own party - and few in the Nationalist Party - have called for a ban on refugees from Syria and the middle east because of terrorism threats.
Biereland Gov. Ben Jordan, who made controversial anti-Islam comments following the Charlie Hebdo attacks that preceded last month's shooting attack in Paris, issued an executive order banning state agencies from processing immigrants from Syria and neighboring countries.
"I've ordered my cabinet to make it clear to state agencies that we will not accept any refugees from Syria or neighboring countries due to the increased threat of terrorism," he said.
Critics immediately pointed out that Jordan exempted Israel from his order, a move that Muslims and Muslim allies view as anti-Islam.
"So you put a ban on refugees from Syria and neighboring countries, but of course Israel is exempt because you Conservatives kiss the feet of Benjamin Netanyahu," tweeted Keith Camber, who is the director of Grassadellians Stand With Muslims, a pro-Islam advocacy group.
Muslims United, the nation's largest Muslim advocacy group, said Jordan's position is not only "untenable and nonsensical, but explicitly dangerous."
"This kind of policy harkens back to the days of Hitler and the exodus of Jewish people out of Europe. Countries didn't want the Jewish migrants, and rejected them in a time of great genocide. We have the same situation now but xenophobia and racist, bigoted comments by people like Mr. Jordan are giving ISIS (the Islamic State terrorist group) the propaganda they need to strengthen their position," said Mohammad Al-Houdad, the group's executive vice president.
Jordan said his exemption for Israel and the country of Jordan was only because those two countries are "much safer" than Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Lebanon.
He defended himself in a tense interview with GNN's Michael Micardi.
"This isn't a matter of race or religious discrimination. It's just common sense. When you have a large group of people trying to kill you and do you harm, and they all hail from one particular corner of the world, it only makes sense to temporarily halt the acceptance of people from that area."
He added that the ban is only temporary "until things calm down there."
"If the terrorists were coming from Sweden, or Canada, or Thailand, or any country, we would do the same thing. This has nothing to do with race and religion and everything to do with political correctness gone mad in this country," said Jordan.
Jordan acknowledged that not all Muslims are bad people.
"In fact, the great majority of Muslims are wonderful, hard-working people who love peace and freedom. But the problem is, at this point, we can't distinguish who is who when we are bringing in refugees to this country. And as we saw in Paris last month, the attackers had come in through the refugee program. That will happen in this country someday if we don't do something right away."
He continued, "I have an oath to protect the people of Biereland. And that's why I've issued this executive order, because the safety and security of Biereland is my highest priority."
His order, however, likely will be overturned through the courts. Most legal scholars, including Federal Attorney General Joel Oelselbach, agree that a state governor cannot ban refugees from being located in their country.
"That's not his job. That's the federal government's job. No governor has that legal right. He can't refuse anyone into his state," said a clearly annoyed Oelselbach at a press conference last week.
That may be true, but a state governor can make it more difficult for immigrants to come to their state by creating more bureaucracy in state agencies.
"He can't stop them altogether, but he can make it a hassle and make it harder," says Joseph Levin, a law professor at Wilkonshire State University in Jaffling.
Meanwhile, two additional governors - Greg Laskie of South Ceona and Wade Quanson of Wellington - have said they will not accept refugees either.
Another eleven governors - all Conservatives except Onakiah Gov. Paula Tulane - have not called for a ban on refugees, but have called for the federal government to increase scrutiny on Syrian refugees.
Almone is among those eleven. She says the government should increase scrutiny and be vigilant. But not panicked and xenophobic.
"That kind of rhetoric from my colleague in Biereland is not helpful. It's divisive, it's hurtful, and that strategy won't work anyway. Instead of sewing discord and division, we should be more vigilant but we should still allow refugees here. These people are fleeing war-torn places. They want to start a new life," she said. "Our country is based on the belief that anyone who works hard can succeed and everyone should have the same opportunity to succeed. This is a national security issue but it's also a human rights issue, and we can't lose sight of that."
Last week, the Senate voted on two measures. The first was a proposal to ban refugees from Syria altogether, sponsored by Sen. Mark Eisinger (C-Remm.) and Sen. Brad Bearns (C-Biere.). It failed overwhelmingly, 21-71 votes. Three Nationalists voted for the bill.
A second measure, this one not banning Syrian refugees but calling for increased scrutiny and an audit of how refugees are processed, narrowly passed 47-45 with bipartisan support. Nine Nationalists joined with all the chamber's 38 Conservatives and one Independent to tip the scale in Conservatives' favor.
President Brenton Menuhaeo opposed both bills and has vowed to veto the second one, if it passes the National Assembly.
"We will not live in fear. This bill does nothing but amplify fear in this country and increase animosity toward Muslim Grassadellians," said Menuhaeo.
If the Assembly does pass the second bill, the Senate will not be able to override Menuhaeo's veto, as two thirds of the Senate are needed to override a presidential veto.
In the meantime, Nationalists took to the press beat to vilify their Conservative colleagues.
"I can't believe in this day and age that we have this kind of fear-mongering going on. I thought those days ended decades ago, " POG Sen. Diane Coke said at a Capitol Hill press conference.
Freshman Sen. Jamie Scousenovy (N-Lial) said the two refugee bills will breed Islamophobia.
"Don't we want to be a welcoming society? A society that isn't paralyzed by irrational fears that are unfounded but a society that values diversity and the belief that all men are created equal and have equal unhindered access to freedom and acceptance?" she said in a town hall meeting in Ansleigha.
The issue is a tense one that has spread throughout the country, but is felt more directly in states with large Muslim populations, such as Marchenay, North Ceona, Ansleigha, Trinton, Armana, Lial, Damoign and Wilkonshire.
As the most populous state by far, Damoign has more Muslims than any other state. But per capita, North Ceona has the most.
The city of Churchtown, Ansleigha has the highest number of Muslims per capita of any city in the country.
That didn't stop North Ceona's and Ansleigha's Conservative senators from supporting the "Syrian Refugee Protection Act (SRPA)," the latter of the two bills voted on last week.
It should be noted Sen. Elizabeth Graham (N-North Ceona) also voted for the SRPA. She voted against the controversially titled "Protect Grassadellia from Syrian Terrorists Act" that failed to pass.
Nationalist governors also took to the airwaves to denounce what they called "Islamophobia."
"This type of behavior is typical of the modern day Conservative Party. Vilify minorities, use fear to scare the white majority. It's really sickening that they would stoop to this level," Lial Gov. Todd Pergich said in his weekly address to the media.
Wilkonshire Gov. Caroline Jepsey, a longtime ally of the Muslim community, said she was disheartened by the rhetoric coming from the far-right.
"This Islamophobia that we are seeing today from Conservative politicians has got to stop. This is not about protecting our country from terrorism. This campaign they're on is about demonizing Muslim Grassadellians and inciting fear and bigotry, and it has no place in this country. We are better than that," the two-term Nationalist governor said.
Sen. Joseph Milhaughly, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said his committee will not cooperate with any audit the SRPA mandates.
"We won't do it. We will not participate in any activitiy that is blatantly unGrassadellian, unconstitutional, and inhumane. I will not let the committee take part in such activities, even if it is mandated by law," said the Marchenay senator.
The National Assembly will take up both issues this week.
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