Congressmen Adam Smith and Jim McDermott, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, and King County Executive Dow Constantine joined together on Nov. 24 to stress that King County will welcome any refugees the area may receive.
“Today, we say to the diverse community of Washington state, comprised of many immigrants and refugees: we stand with you. Whether you worship in a mosque, a synagogue, a church, or not at all, you are welcome here,” said Congressman Adam Smith.
Following the terrorist attacks in Paris and the rise in dangerous political rhetoric about refugees and Muslims, McDermott, Smith, Murray and Constantine held a press conference to highlight the importance of not letting fear and panic undercut the long history that Washington State has of opening its doors to those escaping hardship and despair.
“Seattle and King County remain a tolerant, welcoming and compassionate region with a long history as a safe haven for those seeking safety,” they said in a statement.
Not only was the state itself populated by people who migrated from other areas, but Washington accepted large numbers of Southeast Asian persons after the Vietnam war and has been one of the top resettlement states for the refugee program, said Jorge Barón, executive director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project.
The political leaders were joined at the press conference by Baron, Arsalan Bukhari of the Council on American-Islamic Relations- Washington and Fe’ Lopez of OneAmerica.
While there’s no way to guarantee absolutely no risk in accepting refugees from Syria and Iraq, but any potential refugees would undergo the most intense level of security background, said Baron. On the other hand, rejecting refugees based on their religion could undermine the country’s international credibility and provide greater long-term harm.
It’s easy to say that we’re going to keep people out, but we have to think about the consequences of that,” said Baron. “It could actually feed into the rhetoric that ISIS and other terrorist groups have that the U.S. is against the Muslim world.”
Governor Jay Inslee previously gave his support to incoming refugees, in contrast to several other governors throughout the country. In a statement, he said that the U.S. has lost sense of who we are as a country and that Washington should remain a beacon of hope.
“We are a state – and a nation – that has always taken the path of promoting freedom and being a beacon of hope and refuge for those fleeing persecution. We’ve hewed to those values even in troubled times, and when we haven’t, we’ve regretted it. We regret that we succumbed to fear. We regret that we lost moorage for who we are as a country. Washington state will continue to promote freedom and be a beacon of hope. We will not succumb to fear or those who try to turn us against those most in need of our help,” said Governor Jay Inslee.
