Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

GOP governors converging on Las Vegas amid refugee debate

Syrian Refugees

Ross D. Franklin / AP

A sign welcoming Syrian refugees is placed at the entrance to the office of the Arizona governor during a rally Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015, at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has joined a growing number of governors calling for an immediate halt to the placement of any new refugees in the wake of terrorist attacks in Paris.

Amid calls to block Syrian refugees from entering their states, GOP governors will huddle for a meeting of the Republican Governors Association at the Wynn Las Vegas this week.

The two-day gathering, an annual meeting where politicians discuss a framework for codified policy and initiatives, will likely draw myriad comments regarding the wave of GOP governors calling on the White House to keep refugees out of their states.

Gov. Brian Sandoval and 11 other Republican state executives will attend the event on Wednesday and Thursday. All have said they will not accept refugees, and they join more than a dozen other GOP governors nationwide asking the federal government to stop sending them to states.

Sandoval issued a statement on Monday where he called for extensive security evaluations of refugees and requested a review of eligibility for those seeking re-settlement.

RGA chairman and Tenn. Gov Bill Haslam asked the federal government to stop sending Syrian refugees to the country.

Their comments follow President Barack Obama’s remarks that “slamming the door in [refugees] faces would be a betrayal of our values.”

The debate comes less than a week after the recent attack on Paris that killed at least 132 people and injured hundreds more on Friday. The Islamist extremist group ISIS, which has captured parts of Syria and perpetuated an exodus of the country’s residents, took credit for the massacre.

The last Syrian refugee to enter Nevada was in 2013, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal. The state helped settle 2,214 refugees this year, according to the paper.

The RGA advocates for Republicans with money and grass-roots support in gubernatorial races and did not respond to questions about its Syria position. This week in Las Vegas, the group will vote to replace Haslam as chairman and its vice chairwoman, New Mexico. Gov. Susana Martinez.

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