With strong and emotional reaction from the audience during Monday’s Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) Commissioner Committee meeting, the BOCC discussed a resolution “opposing any efforts to bring Syrian refugees into Santa Rosa County,” as it states. While some spoke of difficulty in denying refugees on religious grounds, the board and majority of those who spoke supported the refusal of allowing Syrian refugees settling in Santa RosaCounty. Thursday expect a vote to pass the resolution.
The resolution falls in line with Governor Rick Scott’s November 16 letter to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell calling on Congress to prevent federal dollars going to relocate Syrian refugees without “extensive examination into how this would affect our homeland security.” County Attorney Roy Andrews said the resolution mirrors the one adopted by EscambiaCounty as well.
Murmurs and shaking heads flowed through the audience as Commissioner Bob Cole responded to the resolution first asking “How, as a Christian, can I deny people seeking refuge?” Cole got a similar reaction when he brought up Monday being Pearl Harbor Day. “Everybody who was Japanese got put in a concentration camp.”
Cole did say he supports background checks “down to the toenails” and would be the first person to “put a bullet between a terrorist’s eyes.”
Commissioner Jayer Williamson also spoke of compassion, namely of the women and children refugees. “You can’t help but feel compassion if you have a heart.” However, he said he also has compassion for Santa RosaCounty and people in America. He also said he supports Scott’s stance because he believes SRC could be a high level military target, though he noted it’s a “personal opinion but not proven.”
Chrys Holley spoke more emotionally saying she lived in the Middle East and Europe for 12 years where she met her late husband. She said, “My heart is full of compassion for genuine refugees.” However, her concern over ISIS terrorists slipping in with refugees led to her reluctant support of the resolution.
Scott’s letter and the SRC resolution cited the November 13 Paris attack “and the news that at least one of the terror attack suspects gained access to France by posing as a Syrian refugee.” Speaking before the board, Wallis Mahute also brought up the December 2 San Bernardino attack noting they were in the U.S. legally.
Scott’s letter asks Congress to prevent President Barak Obama from funding the relocation of refugees “without an extensive evaluation of the risk…to national security.” Multiple speakers said any kind of vetting of refugees would be insufficient or ineffective.
Tim Cohain was the only one to speak positively for the refugees. He said he agreed with Cole’s comments saying, “I’m the son of an immigrant and had my father been denied entrance I couldn't have gone through military college.”
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: BOCC 'opposing any efforts' for Syrian refugees