LOUISE — Officials in Louise, a Mississippi town of 200, say they’ll take refugees from Syria, even though Gov. Phil Bryant has said he’ll do “everything humanly possible” to keep such resettlements away from Mississippi.
In Louisiana, Lafourche Parish is backing Gov. Bobby Jindal’s stand against accepting Syrian refugees.
States cannot block refugee placement. But Jindal and Bryant are among at least 31 governors saying they won’t let Syrian refugees into their states.
The Louise Board of Aldermen voted Nov. 17 to support the U.S. policy to accept refugees, WAPT-TV reported.
It was the right thing to do, said Mayor Ruffin Smith. “Our Christian faith teaches us we should do well by others who are saved through Jesus, but that doesn’t mean we should mistreat or ignore (or) misuse others who aren’t,” he said.
The resolution states, “This town’s governing body fears no threat, but rather feels its Christian duty and obligation to divine providence which has led this great nation from its founding to contribute relief for these poor people’s needs.”
However, resident Ed Henderson says the new policy has the town “in chaos.”
“People in this country right now really want security. They want to go out, be free to do it, whatever they want to do, without continuing to look over their shoulders for a package that’s been left that may explode or what have you,” he said.
Residents have called a 4 p.m. meeting on Dec. 3 at the Volunteer Fire Department to discuss the issue.
In Louisiana, the Lafourche Parish Council voted 6-3 Tuesday to ask President Barack Obama and Congress not to let Syrian refugees into the country, The Daily Comet reported.
Councilmen Jerry Jones, Joe Fertitta and Aaron Caillouet opposed the measure.
Fertitta called refusing refugees un-Christian, while Caillouet said the resolution was a “waste of time.”
“All of our grandparents and great-grandparents were immigrants. I know with all this bombing and everything, that people are scared … but on the Statue of Liberty it doesn’t say just come in if you’re Christian,” Fertitta said. “Some of these people have been through hell. I can’t see us refusing people who are going through so much.”
Chairman Jerry Lafont, who wrote the resolution, said the council should stand up to protect its constituents, and the Obama administration should strengthen screening before allowing refugees into the country.
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