RENTON, Wash. — Anny Khan, a Pakistani American living in Renton, is working with immigration groups to bring Syrian refugees to Washington.
Khan is the Chief Executive of Americans for Refugees and Immigrants.
“We basically feel that it's our moral obligation to help Syrian refugees out,” she said.
Kahn and others point out that America is different from Europe. The State Department and Homeland Security conduct a long screening process before refugees are admitted.
“It's not like a Syrian walked out last night from Syria and is coming to Washington state today, no. These people have been in refugee camps for two years, for years and they are going through these background screenings,” she said.
With the governors of at least 21 states saying they’ll refuse to accept Syrian refugees, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee rejected what he called “anti-refugee comments by governors” that he said “divide people and foment intolerance."
"Washington will continue to be a state that welcomes those seeking refuge from persecution, regardless of where they come from or the religion they practice," the governor said.
Inslee’s statement drew a backlash online.
But Khan said she was pleased by the governor’s statement.
“I would like to say as an American, our people should not feed into the Islamophobia, that xenophobia that's out there. We are Muslims. I am Muslim. I'm a very proud Muslim and we are not ISIS.”
There are roughly 2,000 Syrian refugees sprinkled around the country at this time.
Khan says any new refugees are likely to be settled to in parts of the country where the Syrian community is much larger than in Washington.
Inslee pointed out that the law precludes his fellow governors from keeping Syrian refugees out of the states.
Immigration is the purview of the federal government.
KIRO
