Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday his state will reject the resettlement of new refugees, the first to do so under a recent Trump administration order. In a Friday letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Abbott wrote that Texas “has been left by Congress to deal with disproportionate migration issues resulting from a broken federal immigration system.”
“Texas has carried more than its share in assisting the refugee resettlement process,” the Republican added, noting that Texas typically takes in thousands of refugees each year. In November, the Trump administration announced that resettlement agencies must get written consent from state and local officials in areas where they want to resettle refugees after June 2020. Despite the order, 42 governors in other states have said they will still allow refugees to resettle, according to the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service.
