A day after her office declined comment on whether Oregon would willingly continue to accept Syrian refugees, Gov. Kate Brown says of course we will.

Here’s a series of tweets the governor just sent out.

The foregone-conclusion breeziness of the tweets wasn’t so present yesterday, when Brown spokesman Chris Pair told the O the office had “no comment” on whether the governor would follow the lead of Republican pols around the country in trying to cut off Syrian refugees seeking asylum from civil war. The fresh wave of xenophobia comes, obviously, on the heels of the awful attacks in Paris last Friday.

Brown’s up for election next year, and while prominent Democrats have cleared the way for her to earn the job she was gifted when Gov. John Kitzhaber resigned in February, it’s entirely possible Republican candidates—Salem physician Bud Pierce is the most prominent right now—could raise the refugee issue.

I'm a news reporter for the Mercury. I've spent a lot of the last decade in journalism — covering tragedy and chicanery in the hills of southwest Missouri, politics in Washington, D.C., and other matters...

11 replies on “Turns Out Gov. Kate Brown Will Accept Refugees, After All”

  2. Thank you Govenor . . . Oregon is a wonderful, compassionate, open state. Of course we will take them in. We have a great community and non profits here in The Portland Metro area. I am happy that we fulfill the dream on the Statue of Liberty! And have a sanctuary for the refugees!

  4. What bothers me is that there are very few women and children in the pictures I have seen. They all appear to be young, physically fit fighting aged men. Am I the only one that finds this suspicious< Also, if these refugees are admitted to Oregon, they should be fitted with ankle bracelets so they can be tracked 24/7. I don't trust them. And how is Oregon going to pay for the benefits they will receive when they can't take care of the homeless in the state already?

  5. I’m curious about the legality of states saying they won’t accept any of these refugees. Seems like a lot of bluster. If they are admitted to the US couldn’t they in theory live where they like in the US?

  6. Yeah, I was watching a clip on the news where a refugee said he was leaving his wife and child behind to do this.
    One would expect that once he found a place to stay, he would call on them, right?
    But I couldn’t help but think if the place is that damned dangerous and unstable, then I sure as hell wouldn’t leave my loved ones behind.

  7. Refugees are restricted to a specific geographic location and the Federal government foots the bill to states that put them up, but still they have wandered off already.

  8. http://theamericanmirror.com/syrian-refugee-group-admits-we-dont-track-them/

    {excerpt]

    A Syrian refugee relocated to Louisiana has already gone missing, but the group accommodating them isn’t taking responsibility. State leaders are upset after the federal governor began relocating Syrian refugees in the state without notifying them.

    “Every refugee receives $925 per person — a one-time sum,” services offered to incoming refugees intended to make them “self-sufficient and independent,” including:
    •Being picked up at the airport
    •Finding and securing an apartment
    •Setting up the apartment “so it’s livable”
    •Providing bus orientation
    •Transporting them to Social Security office to apply for card
    •Helping find employment
    •Eight weeks of English as Second Language (ESL) classes

    volunteers help by setting up apartments. The organization gives the volunteer a Walmart gift card to buy “all the items needed for the refugee’s apartment.”

    refugees are able to attend a job readiness class after they “graduate” from the ESL class. There, they’re taught how to compete against Americans for jobs
    we really help them find a job.”

    refugees are also eligible to sign up for a few “cash assistance programs”

    Refugee Services of Texas, received $1,243,000 in tax dollars last year. That amount is expected to “increase significantly” this fiscal year, according to the news site.

  11. I suppose refugees don’t have second class visas, and are free to roam as they will, and I misunderstood the article. Also, there must be some sort of pre approved budget for refugees in general, for contingencies such as this. Du-UH, right?

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