Jerry Brown Wants More Info on Syrian Refugees; WH Balks

Jerry Brown 1974 (Jeff Robbins / Associated Press)
Jeff Robbins / Associated Press

On Wednesday, California Governor Jerry Brown balked at a blanket acceptance of Syrian refugees during a White House teleconference with fellow governors–despite his public protestations that he fully supports bringing the refugees to his state.

According to Bloomberg, “Brown said he favored continuing to admit Syrian refugees but wanted the federal government to hand over information that would allow states to keep track of them.” Somehow, the exchange between Brown and McDonough was elided from the ABC News report covering the call, HotAir notes.

When White House Chief of staff Denis McDonough replied that no current process exists to offer states that kind of information, and the White House refused to consider changing the present scenario, Brown pointed out that state law enforcement agencies are consistently monitoring suspected radicals and that any information gleaned from prospective immigrants could help law enforcement do its job more efficiently.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Barack Obama threatened to veto legislation to improve screening for Syrian refugees. The White House stated: “Given the lives at stake and the critical importance to our partners in the Middle East and Europe of American leadership in addressing the Syrian refugee crisis … [Obama] would veto the bill.”

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