NE W S

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 17, 2015

Contact: Jeff Zent or Jody Link

701.328.2200

DALRYMPLE TO URGE PRESIDENT TO HALT REFUGEE RESETTLEMENTS

UNTIL EXHAUSTIVE REVIEW OF SCREENING MEASURES IS COMPLETED
Governor to Discuss Concerns with Senior Administration Officials Today
BISMARCK, N.D. Governor Jack Dalrymple plans to send a letter to President Barack
Obama urging him to halt plans to resettle Syrian refugees in this country until an exhaustive
review of all security and screening measures has been completed and inadequacies revealed by a
top administration official have been addressed. Dalrymples letter cites testimony by the
director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), James Comey, who before Congress
admitted to certain inadequacies in the system that would prevent the thorough vetting of the
10,000 refugees the administration has pledged to admit into the U.S.
This afternoon, Dalrymple will join other governors on a call with senior administration
officials from the White House, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the U.S.
Department of State and the National Counterterrorism Center to express his concerns with the
administrations plan to resettle Syrian refugees in this country. Dalrymple will call on the federal
government to review the process for conducting background checks on all applicants for
asylum and address the gaps acknowledged by FBI Director Comey.
For generations, our country has welcomed individuals and families seeking safety and
asylum within the borders of the United States, said Dalrymple. However, I am deeply
concerned about the recent terrorist attacks carried out in France and the potential for this
situation to arise in the U.S., especially given the testimony by FBI Director James Comey
revealing gaps in the refugee screening system.
Ensuring the safety and security of North Dakotans, as well as all Americans, is a top
priority for us all, and so I urge the administration to halt the resettlement of Syrian refugees in
the U.S. until the system has been reviewed and we can be assured that our citizens will be safe.
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