Lake Ray, a state representative from the city with one of the largest, best integrated Syrian and Arab communities in the country, has weighed in the Syrian refugee crisis with a new bill. His law would require Florida to do background checks on virtually all refugees coming to the state, beyond the rigorous federal screening they already go through.
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State Rep. Lake Ray's refugee bill: State has right to 'defend itself against invasion'
Lawmaker says Florida needs to be partner with U.S. in screening refugees
By David Bauerlein Tue, Jan 5, 2016 @ 10:58 pm | updated Wed, Jan 6, 2016 @ 5:46 am
Migrant people cross the Serbian-Hungarian border at the railway track near Roszke, southern Hungary in Roszke, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015. Leaders of the United Nations refugee agency warned Tuesday that Hungary faces a bigger wave of 42,000 asylum seekers in the next 10 days and will need international help to provide shelter on its border
AP
Migrant people cross the Serbian-Hungarian border at the railway track near Roszke, southern Hungary in Roszke, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015. Leaders of the United Nations refugee agency warned Tuesday that Hungary faces a bigger wave of 42,000 asylum seekers in the next 10 days and will need international help to provide shelter on its border
Lake Ray
Lake Ray
State Rep. Lake Ray wants Florida to do its own background checks of refugees from war-torn countries so the state can stop refugee-assistance organizations from bringing anyone to Florida without advance approval on a case-by-case basis.
Ray, a Republican from Jacksonville, filed the legislation this week. It's the latest clash between states and the federal government over resettling refugees fleeing oppression in their homelands.
"You watch what unfolds over there and it's certainly a devastating thing," Ray said. "It has nothing to do with a lack of compassion. It has everything to do with what I am charged to do, and I am charged to protect the citizenry."
An official with the Jacksonville office of World Relief, an organization that helps refugees settle into their new homes, said refugees already go through extensive federal background checks while they are overseas before being allowed to start anew in the United States.
"The refugee program statistically and historically has been almost flawless," said Travis Trice of World Relief. "It's something that we should be proud of."
Ray's bill would require the state to screen any refugee coming from an area of the world where terrorists have come from or trained to commit acts of terrorism. The bill does not identify specific countries.
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Well, with all the confusion from the FBI in whether they can conduct background checks on all refugees, having the state conduct background checks on each person coming into the state for location reassignment is not a bad thing. I think the tone of it is not anti-Syrian or Arab, because I don't think Rep. Lake Ray has any issues with the Syrian community, he just wants to make sure there are some additional safeguards after recent attacks. I would hope that we would take our share of legal, law abiding refugees who are just trying to make a new life here. Although, it probably is not a good thing long term for Syria to lose all of its moderate population to the USA and Europe.
I don't know if this is technically Constitutional since Congress has the power to deal with immigration in however it sees fit and the federal law is supreme. Although, it is an interesting technique in asking the organizations that place refugees to share the info or risk losing all business with the state.
^It's creating pointless additional red tape and bureaucracy on top of the already rigorous federal process, and it makes the jobs of the local placement agencies harder. Plus, it serves to further stigmatize Syrians. It won't do anything to make us "safer" from "invasion", but I'm sure he's getting all kinds of political daps from the anti-refugee and anti-Arab segment of the base.
Quote from: Tacachale on January 06, 2016, 09:55:48 AM
Ray's bill would require the state to screen any refugee coming from an area of the world where terrorists have come from or trained to commit acts of terrorism. The bill does not identify specific countries.
[puts on tin-foil hat]
I understand that, as written, this only applies to those with 'refugee status', but does this type of legislature open the door for more a much more broad interpretation of 'refugee'?
States such as TX and AZ that are fighting their own 'refugee' battles could use this as a starting point, if passed, to get more stringent with their issues on the state level.
I'm not a fan (never have been) of more laws generated out of fear or panic. Patriot Act at the state level? County? City? How soon until HOAs will have wiretapping privileges in their communities?
[removes tinfoil hat, waits for condescending remarks]
Quote from: Tacachale on January 06, 2016, 12:43:53 PM
^It's creating pointless additional red tape and bureaucracy on top of the already rigorous federal process, and it makes the jobs of the local placement agencies harder. Plus, it serves to further stigmatize Syrians. It won't do anything to make us "safer" from "invasion", but I'm sure he's getting all kinds of political daps from the anti-refugee and anti-Arab segment of the base.
I think the problem is that the federal process is so secretive and convoluted that it creates fear that the feds are not doing their job, especially when the head of the FBI comes out and says he doesn't know if his bureau can do background checks on every refugee, and then under political pressure, walk that back. I would hope this bill would be sincere about safety in lieu of Paris and California, and not just a measure of discrimination. Lake Ray is a really good guy if you have ever had the chance to meet him so I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Quote from: FlaBoy on January 06, 2016, 01:59:01 PM
Quote from: Tacachale on January 06, 2016, 12:43:53 PM
^It's creating pointless additional red tape and bureaucracy on top of the already rigorous federal process, and it makes the jobs of the local placement agencies harder. Plus, it serves to further stigmatize Syrians. It won't do anything to make us "safer" from "invasion", but I'm sure he's getting all kinds of political daps from the anti-refugee and anti-Arab segment of the base.
I think the problem is that the federal process is so secretive and convoluted that it creates fear that the feds are not doing their job, especially when the head of the FBI comes out and says he doesn't know if his bureau can do background checks on every refugee, and then under political pressure, walk that back. I would hope this bill would be sincere about safety in lieu of Paris and California, and not just a measure of discrimination. Lake Ray is a really good guy if you have ever had the chance to meet him so I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt.
I know Lake Ray, and he is a good guy. But good guys are capable of making bad political decisions, and this is one of them.
I don't believe for a minute that if the standard rigorous federal process for screening refugees is problematic, that Rick Scott's Florida will do any better. What it will do is create some more red tape and expense, and make the local refugee agencies jump through more hoops. I suspect that's the real point here.
Quote from: Murder_me_Rachel on January 06, 2016, 03:06:25 PM
On a related note, here is the Daily Record's survey from last week:
Poll Results
Monday 12/28 - Sunday 01/03
Do you agree with Donald Trump's proposal to temporarily ban Muslims from immigrating to the United States?
The results through Internet voting:
Yes - 53%
No - 47%
Pretty sure there was another survey that same week:
Poll Results
Monday 12/28 - Sunday 01/03
Do you believe that if a person has brown skin (non-latino) and/or an Arabic sounding name, first or last, that person is a follower of Muslim:
Yes - 92%
No - 6%
Undecided - 2%
Quote from: stephendare on January 06, 2016, 03:16:28 PM
I like Lake, but sometimes the Jackass runs deep in this one.
knuckle headed and dangerous legislation at the very least. I guess in the coming election sweepstakes, Lake just needs to make sure that his neck is out there for the Tea Party Waterloo in November.
Isn't Lake termed out for the fall?
He was elected in 2008 so his 8 years are up this cycle. He cannot run for reelection in the House.
http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/details.aspx?MemberId=4441
This bill would force Florida to grow it's government so we could perform the rigorous background checks on people who are far less dangerous to us than the ones already living here. Let's be honest, we have a bunch of nut-cases in Florida and most of the nation makes fun of us for it already. However, duplicating government services and growing our state government will just give the next Republican running for his seat a talking point..."government is too big and doesn't work." Blah blah blah. This is purely political and driven by fear. Lake Ray, how about you propose solutions to real problems?
How will these rigorous background checks be paid for?
Oh, I know, cut funding to DCF and indigent hospital care.
Quote from: Charles Hunter on January 06, 2016, 08:26:27 PM
How will these rigorous background checks be paid for?
Good point, Charles.
If Lake Ray doesn't trust the "lax" federal check, let's scrape together a few million to develop our own rigorous background checking process which will be conducted by trained state investigators checking the lives of these immigrants in the refuge camps and even further back in their country of origin. I'm sure that their records can be obtained from the police and government sources in say, Syria.
Or we could just ask them what their religious beliefs are and how aligned they are with radical philosophies.
we have so much more to be concerned with other than the distant possibility that a refugee would commit a terrorist act. Lake Ray is pandering to the right wing; I presume he's prepping for a run for yet another shot at the public trough. His plan is un-American and counter productive in terms of actually fighting terrorism.