Wolf, Casey address Syrian refugee issues in Pennsylvania

As refugees continue to flee Syria, the issue is crossing the border into Pennsylvania.

On Tuesday, Gov. Tom Wolf sent a letter to state legislators regarding the issue of resettling those seeking asylum from the unrest and violence in their homeland. That came after the governor’s statement Monday that, unlike many states, Pennsylvania would not oppose offering sanctuary.

His letter to the legislators responded to fears raised in the wake of last week’s attacks in Paris and Beirut.

“We must not forget that those fleeing Syria — and other places in crisis — are families, elderly, and orphaned children seeking to escape a daily life that includes the same horrific violence that occurred in Paris,” Wolf wrote.

“As governor of Pennsylvania, my first priority is protecting the commonwealth. I believe we can keep Pennsylvania safe while also ensuring that Pennsylvania stays true to its values and builds on its rich history of accepting immigrants and refugees from around the world.”

According to state Department of Human Services press secretary Kait Gillis, Pennsylvania accepted 112 Syrian refugees from October 2014 to September 2015. The bulk of those settled in the Allentown and Scranton areas. No refugees have come to Centre County.

“The process is all on a federal level,” Gillis said. “Individuals are screened by the (U.S.) Department of State. That process is handled by the Bureau of Population Refugees and Migration. What happens is the president sets a level of how many refugees the U.S. is going to accept. President Obama set it at 75,000 and 15,000 additional as needed, with 10,000 of them Syrian.”

“Then what happens is the U.S. Department of State confers with the National Voluntary Agencies. There are 13 nationwide. Six of those have a presence in Pennsylvania. What happens then is those NVAs confer with local affiliates and see what the capabilities are,” Gillis said.

NVAs include groups like the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Migration and Refugee Services. Gillis said Catholic Charities is one of the affiliates that might be contacted to find out if there were resources to help resettle refugees.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., said in a recent statement that the process, which he called “the most rigorous in the world,” is mindful of American safety and the terrorist threats, including vetting by the National Counterterrorism Center, the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center, the departments of Homeland Security, State and Defense.

“This review process includes biometric and biographic checks, interviews by specially trained officers who scrutinize the applicant’s explanation of individual circumstances to ensure the applicant is a genuine refugee and is not known to present security concerns to the United States. The process also includes an additional layer of enhanced classified screening measures for those refugees from Syria,” he said.

“In addition, the U.S. government prioritizes admitting the most vulnerable Syrians, particularly female-headed households, children, survivors of torture, and individuals with severe medical conditions. In fact, of the 12 million Syrians displaced from their homes half are children,” Casey said. “If our intelligence and homeland security professionals determine there’s a way to strengthen the existing process then those appropriate steps should be taken.”

This story was originally published November 18, 2015 at 3:14 PM with the headline "Wolf, Casey address Syrian refugee issues in Pennsylvania."