This is what the Wichita Eagle printed regarding HB2612
[I have added my comments in brackets]
Measure would create a state office to oversee refugee resettlement
ACLU of Kansas says the bill is unconstitutional and discriminatory
[I have added my comments in brackets]
Measure would create a state office to oversee refugee resettlement
ACLU of Kansas says the bill is unconstitutional and discriminatory
Topeka
With members worried that the federal government can’t properly vet
refugees coming to the state, a Kansas House committee on Thursday
narrowly approved a bill that allows a one-year moratorium on refugee
resettlements.
The committee voted 12-10 to recommend passage in the Kansas House, but opponents said the bill sends the wrong — and un-Christian — message about the state’s stance on refugee resettlement.
[Interesting how they use the "Christian" card rather than look at facts and figures. I would really like to know who those opponents are and who has twisted their opinion. Money talks and our opponents' arguments have nothing to do with Christianity. They are being unduly influenced by non-profits and government agencies that are raking in thousands upon thousands of hard earned tax payer dollars, which in turn, are used against the hardworking citizens of our state.]
The ACLU of Kansas called the bill unconstitutional and discriminatory.
[Oh, so now, the ACLU calls upon the constitution to make their argument! It is unconstitutional to allow refugees in that have not been properly screened. It is unconstitutional for them not to earn their right to be American citizens. It is unconstitutional for them to place their own political beliefs above that of our American system of politics. We the people, the taxpayers are the ones who are being discriminated against. We, the United States citizens, do not want traitors in our country which fight to thwart our Constitution to take over the USA.]
The measure creates a state office for refugees and authorizes Gov. Sam Brownback to appoint a state refugee coordinator.
The bill allows local governments to request a moratorium of up to one year on refugee resettlements if the community lacks the capacity to handle the refugees. A public hearing would be held on the moratorium request.
[YES!]
“It opens the door for mischief that is quite concerning to me,” said Rep. Don Hineman, R-Dighton, questioning whether communities could use the moratorium to try to keep out certain refugees.
Hineman said his faith exhorts him “to welcome the stranger with kindness, compassion and Christian love.”
[Mischief? Is this what he is worried about? Then he better look at the crime statistics for those refugees who have entered our country in droves. He better do his research and look into the numerous Muslim groups that have ties to terrorist cells. While he is at it, he should read up on the history of Islam - its violent, hate-filled history. He should also take a good look at the news from Europe and see what is happening to their compassionate embrace of refugees. This man must be blind, deaf and stupid.]
The measure also allows the governor to direct the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to investigate crimes by or against refugees. The state refugee office and coordinator would keep data from the federal government and meet quarterly with local governments.
[This is extremely important. There are definitely many "persons of interest" residing in Kansas refugee communities.]
Rep. Joseph Scapa, R-Wichita, said the bill codifies coordination by local and state governments with the federal government in resettling refugees and provides a way for state government to oversee the process.
[Let's make sure that such a state office and its coordinators don't get fat at the federal trough. They need strict oversight and minimum funding]
Federal officials have acknowledged that they lack information on refugees coming from Syria, he said.
[It is absolutely insane that federal officials either cannot or will not gather necessary information on incoming refugees - including their religious beliefs. At the same time, the federal officials have no problem doling out millions of tax payer dollars to house, feed, educate and accomodate these aliens in every way possible. It is infuriating!]
“This is not a ban on refugees,” Scapa said. “This is a common-sense way to help us see that the federal regulations are being abided by. This is a bill that allows us to have some control.”
Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Kansas, said the bill is preempted by federal law, which has sole authority over refugee resettlement. And it’s discriminatory, he said in a written statement, because it could deny public services to people living in Kansas on the basis of who they are and where they come from.
[As I understand the law - preemption of federal law by the state is allowed if the state law is more stringent than the federal law. In this case it is. Preemption would apply if the state law attempted to override a federal law with a more lenient law. Why can't we deny public services to non-citizens? We must take care of our own American citizens first. That is common sense based on sound reasoning. The fact is that many elected officials in our federal, state and local governments actively discriminate against the American taxpayer.]
This week, he said, a federal judge granted a request by a refugee resettlement organization in Indiana for a preliminary injunction that blocks Gov. Mike Pence from taking any action to interfere with the resettlement of Syrian refugees.
[Of course the organization did but what is more shameful is that the federal judge ruled in favor of them. Let us hope that federal judges in Kansas are loyal to the USA and its citizens first.]
Kubic said the House should reject “this legally problematic, unconstitutional, discriminatory and hateful bill.”
[Hateful? Do they really not understand that it is their support of Muslims over Christian Americans that is hateful?]
Several members of the House Federal and State Affairs Committee said they struggled with their vote.
[It is OK to struggle. I did not come to my conclusions about Islam and creeping sharia overnight. I read, I learned, I researched. Where are the Christian refugees? Where are the non-Muslim refugees? Where are the Muslims who question Islam?]
Rep. Brett Hildabrand, R-Shawnee, who voted in favor of the bill, said he also is called by his faith to have compassion for refugees. If the bill banned refugees or members of an entire religion, he said, “I would be 100 percent against it. That’s not what this bill does.”
[Thank you Rep. Hildabrand. I have compassion for all the refugees as well. I cannot imagine all that they have endured. Generation after generation surviving in war torn countries. I understand why they often embrace violence and terrorism. However, that does not mean I accept it or want it in my community. This is our country! You must assimilate into our culture, not the other way around.]
Rep. Stephanie Clayton, R-Overland Park, told committee members that the $1.4 million cost to implement the bill was reason enough to defeat it, given the state’s finances. In a report released Tuesday, February tax receipts were $53 million below estimates. The current budget has only $6 million in reserve.
[Where did Rep. Clayton get these figures? As I said earlier - set up the offices first and keep their budget to the minimum. Our state does not need yet another bloated bureaucratic agency.]
“We flat-out cannot afford to do this,” Clayton said.
[We flat-out can't afford not to!!]
The committee voted 12-10 to recommend passage in the Kansas House, but opponents said the bill sends the wrong — and un-Christian — message about the state’s stance on refugee resettlement.
[Interesting how they use the "Christian" card rather than look at facts and figures. I would really like to know who those opponents are and who has twisted their opinion. Money talks and our opponents' arguments have nothing to do with Christianity. They are being unduly influenced by non-profits and government agencies that are raking in thousands upon thousands of hard earned tax payer dollars, which in turn, are used against the hardworking citizens of our state.]
The ACLU of Kansas called the bill unconstitutional and discriminatory.
[Oh, so now, the ACLU calls upon the constitution to make their argument! It is unconstitutional to allow refugees in that have not been properly screened. It is unconstitutional for them not to earn their right to be American citizens. It is unconstitutional for them to place their own political beliefs above that of our American system of politics. We the people, the taxpayers are the ones who are being discriminated against. We, the United States citizens, do not want traitors in our country which fight to thwart our Constitution to take over the USA.]
The measure creates a state office for refugees and authorizes Gov. Sam Brownback to appoint a state refugee coordinator.
The bill allows local governments to request a moratorium of up to one year on refugee resettlements if the community lacks the capacity to handle the refugees. A public hearing would be held on the moratorium request.
[YES!]
Keep pushing and fighting the good fight!!
“It opens the door for mischief that is quite concerning to me,” said Rep. Don Hineman, R-Dighton, questioning whether communities could use the moratorium to try to keep out certain refugees.
Hineman said his faith exhorts him “to welcome the stranger with kindness, compassion and Christian love.”
[Mischief? Is this what he is worried about? Then he better look at the crime statistics for those refugees who have entered our country in droves. He better do his research and look into the numerous Muslim groups that have ties to terrorist cells. While he is at it, he should read up on the history of Islam - its violent, hate-filled history. He should also take a good look at the news from Europe and see what is happening to their compassionate embrace of refugees. This man must be blind, deaf and stupid.]
The measure also allows the governor to direct the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to investigate crimes by or against refugees. The state refugee office and coordinator would keep data from the federal government and meet quarterly with local governments.
[This is extremely important. There are definitely many "persons of interest" residing in Kansas refugee communities.]
Rep. Joseph Scapa, R-Wichita, said the bill codifies coordination by local and state governments with the federal government in resettling refugees and provides a way for state government to oversee the process.
[Let's make sure that such a state office and its coordinators don't get fat at the federal trough. They need strict oversight and minimum funding]
Federal officials have acknowledged that they lack information on refugees coming from Syria, he said.
[It is absolutely insane that federal officials either cannot or will not gather necessary information on incoming refugees - including their religious beliefs. At the same time, the federal officials have no problem doling out millions of tax payer dollars to house, feed, educate and accomodate these aliens in every way possible. It is infuriating!]
“This is not a ban on refugees,” Scapa said. “This is a common-sense way to help us see that the federal regulations are being abided by. This is a bill that allows us to have some control.”
Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Kansas, said the bill is preempted by federal law, which has sole authority over refugee resettlement. And it’s discriminatory, he said in a written statement, because it could deny public services to people living in Kansas on the basis of who they are and where they come from.
[As I understand the law - preemption of federal law by the state is allowed if the state law is more stringent than the federal law. In this case it is. Preemption would apply if the state law attempted to override a federal law with a more lenient law. Why can't we deny public services to non-citizens? We must take care of our own American citizens first. That is common sense based on sound reasoning. The fact is that many elected officials in our federal, state and local governments actively discriminate against the American taxpayer.]
This week, he said, a federal judge granted a request by a refugee resettlement organization in Indiana for a preliminary injunction that blocks Gov. Mike Pence from taking any action to interfere with the resettlement of Syrian refugees.
[Of course the organization did but what is more shameful is that the federal judge ruled in favor of them. Let us hope that federal judges in Kansas are loyal to the USA and its citizens first.]
Kubic said the House should reject “this legally problematic, unconstitutional, discriminatory and hateful bill.”
[Hateful? Do they really not understand that it is their support of Muslims over Christian Americans that is hateful?]
Several members of the House Federal and State Affairs Committee said they struggled with their vote.
[It is OK to struggle. I did not come to my conclusions about Islam and creeping sharia overnight. I read, I learned, I researched. Where are the Christian refugees? Where are the non-Muslim refugees? Where are the Muslims who question Islam?]
Rep. Brett Hildabrand, R-Shawnee, who voted in favor of the bill, said he also is called by his faith to have compassion for refugees. If the bill banned refugees or members of an entire religion, he said, “I would be 100 percent against it. That’s not what this bill does.”
[Thank you Rep. Hildabrand. I have compassion for all the refugees as well. I cannot imagine all that they have endured. Generation after generation surviving in war torn countries. I understand why they often embrace violence and terrorism. However, that does not mean I accept it or want it in my community. This is our country! You must assimilate into our culture, not the other way around.]
Rep. Stephanie Clayton, R-Overland Park, told committee members that the $1.4 million cost to implement the bill was reason enough to defeat it, given the state’s finances. In a report released Tuesday, February tax receipts were $53 million below estimates. The current budget has only $6 million in reserve.
[Where did Rep. Clayton get these figures? As I said earlier - set up the offices first and keep their budget to the minimum. Our state does not need yet another bloated bureaucratic agency.]
“We flat-out cannot afford to do this,” Clayton said.
[We flat-out can't afford not to!!]
