The organization calls on Maryland Governor Hogan to Stand for American Principles.
Governors around the country, including Maryland’s Governor Larry Hogan, have launched nativist attacks against refugees fleeing violence. The office of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, on the other hand, has made a statement of acceptance:
«We must not lose sight of the fact that families leaving Syria are trying to escape the same violence and unimaginable terror that took place in Paris and Beirut… Pennsylvania will continue working with the Federal Government to ensure that all individuals have gone through the proper screening process. Governor Wolf wants Pennsylvania to continue to build on its rich tradition of accepting immigrants and refugees from around the world…»
CASA is the largest immigrants’ rights organization in the mid-Atlantic region with a growing base in South-Central Pennsylvania. «Real leadership involves making tough, smart decisions that will benefit all of us and are true to our values as a state and a country, and we applaud Governor Wolf’s leadership today,” said Gustavo Torres, CASA’s Executive Director. «Refugees are among the most loyal, law abiding residents in our communities. Many have excelled in our ESOL classes and citizenship programs, and have become integral to the American family and economy. Turning them away would be inhumane and a great loss.”
Despite clear legal evidence that refugee resettlement is the purview of the federal government and hence not within a governor’s power to refuse, 31 governor’s across the country, including neighboring Maryland Governor Hogan, have made statements that they will refuse to receive additional refugees from Syria.
“Governor Hogan is embarrassing our state in attacking impoverished families fleeing violence,” said Mr. Torres. “We stand today embarrassed of national anti-immigrant legacies like Japanese internment camps and call on Governor Hogan to resist statements that violate human rights norms today and will stain our reputation as a welcoming state.”
