MI Township says "no" to Syrian refugees

Oakland County, Michigan -- Waterford Township trustees unanimously passed a resolution Monday telling the feds not to send any Syrian refugees their way until the vetting program "has been significantly reformed."

The resolution stated: "[T]he Charter Township of Waterford will not actively participate in the Refugee Resettlement Program until the Program has been significantly reformed, and until ht has been demonstrated that the Townships of Oakland County have the capacity to absorb refugees without diverting funds from needy residents or exposing their residents to unwarranted security risks."

For more on this problem, read my last blog entry here. 

Waterford Township's population of 72,000 is located in the geographic center of Oakland County, which has a population of 1.2 million.

The resolution passed just prior to the Thomas More Law Center announced that it has been selected to represent Tennessee in its suit against the federal government on Tenth Amendment grounds over the operation of the refugee resettlement program by the feds in Tennessee.

Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said he intends to sue the federal government for resettling refugees in the county but failing to comply with the "consultation clause" in the Refugee Act of 1980 requiring the feds and the director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement to consult with state and local government officials prior to the placement of refugees within their jurisdictions.

Syrian refugee women shortage

"The resolution, which has been pushed by the Oakland County Association of Township Supervisors, states that the federal Refugee Resettlement Program creates significant financial burdens for communities to mee the needs of the refugees, WWJ, the CBS (local of Detroit) reported.

One Watership Township resident complained, "We've got so many people who need jobs in Waterford, what are you gonna do with the refugees that come in here? You're gonna feed them? You're gonna clothe them? You're gonna house them? We can't afford that; we've got veterans that need help."

Another resident, possibly a low-information liberal who doesn't see the potential problems said, "I've lived here my entire life. I've never been embarrassed to be a Waterford citizen until I saw this resolution." 

However, he did not offer to take in any of the refugees into his own home or have any live next door to him.



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