Editor’s note: Morgan True contributed to this report.
[M]ONTPELIER — Protesters on the Statehouse lawn clashed Friday over whether Syrian refugees should continue to be allowed in the state amid concerns following the Paris attacks that terrorists could take advantage of refugee policies to carry out an assault on American soil.
More than 30 organizers gathered on one side of the lawn in support of refugee resettlement programs, carrying signs and chanting slogans. On the other side of the lawn was a smaller group of protesters — around seven — who were against Syrian refugee policies.
“Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here,” Elizabeth Nikazmerad, 25, of Burlington, shouted into a megaphone, leading the chant.
“Refugees are welcome, racists are not,” she continued.
At another pro-refugee rally in Burlington Thursday night a handful of activists and elected officials gathered on Main Street to applaud Gov. Peter Shumlin for saying Vermont would welcome Syrian refugees.
“What’s really pivotal about this moment as we watch fomenting fear against our Muslim brothers and sisters and against refugees who are coming here for a better life is that we cannot remain silent,” said Rep. Kesha Ram, D-Burlington, who is running for lieutenant governor.
A number of speakers at the Montpelier rally said they hoped to open their homes to refugees, and others pointed to the economic benefits that refugees could bring to the Green Mountain State.
“The refugees are farmers — like me — teachers — like you — engineers, truck drivers, family folks,” said Sen. David Zuckerman, P/D-Chittenden, who is also running for lieutenant governor as a Democrat. “They need our help, they need help from around the world for a situation that is unlike anything we can imagine.”
Rick Lawrence, 62, of Richmond, wore dark sunglasses and held an American flag. He stood on the other side of the lawn. Lawrence compared Islamic extremists to “cockroaches,” saying they could easily infiltrate into America through settlement programs.
“I don’t want them in the country unless we know that there is not terrorists filtering in with ‘em,” Lawrence said.
“Look at these guys in Paris,” he added. “They were running around, all over the place.”
Refugee resettlement sparks gubernatorial controversy
Gov. Peter Shumlin, Democratic gubernatorial candidates Sue Minter and Matt Dunne and the Vermont congressional delegation all support the refugee program.
Republican gubernatorial candidates Phil Scott and Bruce Lisman have diverged from the emerging consensus among Vermont’s political leaders that Syrian refugees should continue to be admitted to the United States, instead questioning the effectiveness of the security measures used to seek out potential threats.
“ISIS is different than anything we have probably experienced,” Lisman said. “We need to make sure we have a system that vets refugees.”
“Let’s take a break and get reassured,” Lisman added.
Similarly, Scott told Vermont Public Radio Tuesday that refugee programs should be halted “until such time as the federal government can prove it’s meeting its national security obligations.”
On Thursday, the lieutenant governor released a statement claiming media reports had “inaccurately suggested that I oppose the resettlement of refugees in Vermont.”
Scott said he embraced immigration as a core American value, but asserted the federal government’s refugee vetting process was insufficient.
“When the American people are satisfied with the federal security protocols, we should continue to welcome those in search of the hope and opportunity that America offers,” Scott said.
Both the Obama and Shumlin administrations have defended the security protocols in place to screen refugees, a process that can take between 18 and 24 months, according to an NPR report.
“It takes months to get through, it’s a rigorous process and we will root out folks who should not be here,” Shumlin said Monday.
Asked what part of the process seemed inadequate, Lisman didn’t point to a specific flaw, saying, “I don’t want to claim I’m an expert.”
Lisman instead pointed to remarks by FBI Director James Comey who has said that a number of potential threats from Iraq had slipped through the cracks in the past.
“The fellow that runs the FBI has said he doesn’t have enough staff to vet the Syrians,” Lisman said. “The availability, he said, of fake Syrian passports generally, is alarming.
While Comey has said he could not offer an absolute assurance that bringing in Syrian refugees would pose no risk, he defends and supports the vetting process.
Scott did not respond to multiple requests for comment Friday, and in his statement didn’t offer any specific concerns about security flaws.In an interview with Seven Days Thursday, Scott said, “I don’t understand the situation and I certainly don’t feel like we can pause or stop the refugee program in its entirety.”
Scott’s statements seemed to run counter to remarks he made at a recent forum on economic development in Burlington in which he said the state, which is losing residents in rural areas, should set specific goals for population increases, pointing to Barre as place enriched by immigration.
“We have a rich history in Barre of ethnicity,” Scott said. “The Italians, the French, the Scots, all coming to Barre because of the rock.”
Conor Casey, executive director of the Vermont Democratic Party, issued a blistering response Friday that called Scott’s opinion on the crisis muddled.
“We don’t need a Gumby Governor, we need someone with a backbone who stands up for American and Vermont values on Day One – not someone who bends this way and that,” Casey said.
On Friday, Dunne said he welcomed Scott’s embrace of immigration, but said he wished Scott was more specific on what exactly would assuage his security concerns.
“I’m not sure exactly what Phil Scott believes is necessary and will make him comfortable in order for us to continue to be a welcoming state to refugees,” Dunne said.
Vermont likely to receive a limited number of Syrian refugees
Amila Merdzanovic, field office director for the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program said it’s likely that Vermont will host several Syrian refugee families in the coming year, but she was unable to say how many.
Merdzanovic’s organization is a non-governmental contractor that works with the U.S. State Department as well as state and local officials and community partners to resettle refugees. In a typical year, Vermont resettles 325 refugees. This year the state is likely to receive 350.
The vetting process takes roughly 1,000 days to complete and includes medical screening and in-person interviews, she said. Refugees have been fleeing Syria since 2011.
Shumlin said earlier this week there are seven to eight Syrians being processed to come to Vermont. A spokesman said that figure came from conversations with the refugee resettlement program and was just an estimate.
There are 4.2 million Syrian refugees currently registered with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. To date, the U.S. has accepted fewer than 2,000, according to Merdzanovic.
President Barack Obama recently pledged that the U.S. will take 10,000 Syrian refugees in the coming year, and while some lawmakers are urging the U.S. to take more, there are others who are seeking to obstruct that process.
Europe has already accepted 93,000 Syrians, according to a New York Times report. United Nations statistics show that Turkey, which borders Syria, has taken in 1.5 million refugees and is expected to allow 200,000 more into the country before the end of the year.
Vermont congressional delegation pushes for more
Sen. Patrick Leahy is one of the staunchest supporters of Syrian refugees on Capitol Hill. He is a co-sponsor of the Middle East Refugee Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, which would provide $1 billion for refugee assistance and could bring as many as 100,000 refugees into America, exceeding President Obama’s current cap, which is 10,000.
“Those who call now to slam our doors on even properly vetted Syrian refugees should remember that the people we will shut out are those very children who touched our hearts just weeks ago,” Leahy said Wednesday.
“ISIS is our enemy,” the senior senator added. “The Syrian people fleeing ISIS are not.”
Rep. Peter Welch, who has visited refugee camps on the Turkey-Syria border, voted against a House bill that passed Thursday requiring top administration officials to personally vouch for each refugee from the Middle East before they are allowed in the country.
“I believe we have a responsibility to share the enormous burden of relieving the human suffering of innocent people on the front lines of ISIS violence,” Welch said Friday.
In a Thursday speech, Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders said, “when hundreds of thousands of people have lost everything, have nothing left but the shirts on their backs, we will not turn our backs on the refugees from Syria and Afghanistan.”
