Cartoon

Unelectable

Written by SK Ashby

(Cartoonist - Tim Eagan)

In other news, you may have heard a growing number of Republican governors have said their states won't accept Syrian refugees, but that's not actually up to them.

States do not have the authority to block refugees as Ian Millhiser at ThinkProgress point outs.

As the Supreme Court explained in Hines v. Davidowitz, “the supremacy of the national power in the general field of foreign affairs, including power over immigration, naturalization and deportation, is made clear by the Constitution.” States do not get to overrule the federal government on matters such as this one.

Just in case there is any doubt, President Obama has explicit statutory authorization to accept foreign refugees into the United States. Under the Refugee Act of 1980, the president may admit refugees who face “persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion” into the United States, and the president’s power to do so is particularly robust if they determine that an “unforeseen emergency refugee situation” such as the Syrian refugee crisis exists.

Meanwhile, senator and fake libertarian Rand Paul has introduced a bill to impose a moratorium on visas for countries where "Jihadist movements" may be located. That could mean virtually everywhere.