The Texas government last week warned a refugee agency in the state that the group could face legal action if it does not comply with the governor’s order to stop resettling Syrian refugees in Texas, but the International Rescue Committee (IRC) said on Monday that it would continue to aid refugees from Syria.
In a Nov. 25 letter to the Dallas chapter of the International Rescue Committee, Chris Traylor, the executive commissioner of the state Health and Human Services Commission, reminded the group of the governor’s decision earlier in November to stop cooperating with the federal government’s plans to resettle refugees from Syria in Texas.
“We have been unable to achieve cooperation with your agency,” Traylor wrote in the letter, according to the Dallas Morning News. “Specifically, your agency insists on resettling certain refugees from Syria in the near future.”
Traylor wrote that other refugee agencies in the state expressed willingness to cooperate with the Texas government to find alternative options for refugees from Syria, and he threatened legal action against the IRC if the group does not comply with the state’s demands, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“Failure by your organization to cooperate with the state of Texas as required by federal law may result in the termination of your contract with the state and other legal action,” Traylor wrote, asking the committee to respond by Nov. 30.
Other agencies that help with refugee resettlement have also said they would continue to aid Syrians, but the Texas government has only sent a letter to the IRC, a Health and Human Services Commission spokesperson told the Dallas Morning News.
The IRC responded to Traylor on Monday with a statement reiterating the group’s commitment to helping Syrian refugees resettle in Texas.
“The IRC understands Governor Abbott’s commitment to the safety of the people of Texas. There is no doubt that what happened on the streets of Paris on November 13 was horrific and the actions of a terrorist organization. However it is important not to conflate terrorists with the Syrian refugees who are seeking sanctuary in the United States,” a statement from the group reads.
Representatives from the IRC are willing to meet with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, according to the statement.
Earlier in November, Donna Duvin, the executive director of the IRC in Dallas, told the Dallas Morning News that the group may need to work more closely with the federal government to obtain the funding necessary to settle Syrian refugees in the state.
