Commissioners agree on final draft of resolution

It took some wordsmithing, but the Boundary County Board of Commissioners agreed on a final draft Monday regarding the Refugee Resettlement Act.

The resolution has now been sent off to Gov. Butch Otter, as well as Idaho’s congressional delegation. 

Commissioner LeAlan Pinkerton said he pleased the board was able to finish the resolution process, and is curious to the response it will see from state legislators and other elected officials.

“We agreed on it, signed it, passed it, and now we send it off,” Pinkerton said. “We’ll keep a copy on file here at the office and get a copy out to our legislators. Now we wait and see what happens. I’m happy we have a resolution in place. Anytime you can get three guys to hash it through and finally approve it, you’re happy to get it done.”

The entire resolution is printed below:

BOUNDARY COUNTY RESOLUTION #2016-10

 REFUGEE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, it is the responsibility and the first duty of government to protect and serve its citizens, it is incumbent upon the Boundary County Board of Commissioners to enact or adopt appropriate ordinances, resolutions, and policies to protect the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Boundary County; and

WHEREAS, the federal government has by Executive Order begun the relocation of thousands of refugees from the Middle East to the United States through the Refugee Resettlement Program; and

WHEREAS, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the director of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have admitted that they are unable to conduct adequate background checks on incoming Middle Eastern refugees nor can they adequately investigate the legitimacy of each claim of refugee status to prevent members of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) from entering the United States.  Testimony was also presented befoU.S. House Homeland Security committee in February, 2015 by the FBI’s Deputy Assistant Director of Counter-terrorism, Michael Steinbach, who stated that it is “virtually impossible to screen refugees from a ‘failed state’, like Syria, where the U.S. does not have boots on the ground and does not have access to reliable police or intelligence records”; and

WHEREAS, individuals of middle-eastern citizenship who were admitted to the U.S. with business, tourist or student visas, have committed acts of terrorism on U.S. soil which are well documented, two of which were 9-11 and the bombing at the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013; and

WHEREAS, as recently demonstrated by the terrorist attacks in Paris, ISIS terrorists were admitted to Europe as Syrian refugees.  There have been many other terrorist attacks around the world by refugees with an agenda and culture to wage a holy war against all unbelievers through the deaths of “infidels.” Many of these groups harbor goals to infiltrate, populate and dominate the world with Islam as well as Sharia Law; and 

WHEREAS, it is possible that members of ISIS, or other radical extremists and terrorist organizations, could infiltrate the state of Idaho as well as Boundary County; and

WHEREAS, the citizens of Boundary County and Idaho deserve to have the right to be consulted and to object to the resettlement of such refugees inside its borders, since, Boundary County does not have the infrastructure, the resources, nor the ability to handle the impacts on public health, public safety, health care, available housing, or the financial burden on schools, law enforcement and health care providers; and in order to enjoy life and liberty without the constant threat of terrorism which leads to death and destruction;

WHEREAS, there is a comprehensive vetting process for those persons wanting to immigrate to the USA and become citizens, which has been in place for decades, such as, the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act passed on June 27, 1952, basically prohibits the entry to the United States by “force, violence, or other unconstitutional means.”  By its very definition this law rules out immigration to the U.S. by those who are antithetical and/or subversive to the U.S. government, the U.S. Constitution, and to our republic.  

WHEREAS, the Boundary County Board of Commissioners expresses its concern over and its opposition to the current United States’ Refugee Resettlement Program, and ultimately, state or county taxpayer expenditures for the program in Boundary County; therefore be it 

RESOLVED, that the Boundary County Board of Commissioners will not approve, participate in or proceed with the expenditure of any county funds to assist in the United States Refugee Resettlement Program in Boundary County; and be it further 

RESOLVED, The Board of Commissioners for Boundary County duly support Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter and Idaho’s Congressional Delegation in their call to halt refugee resettlement until the vetting process and state concerns are addressed; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the Boundary County Board of Commissioners calls upon the Governor of the State of Idaho and the Idaho State Legislature to assert its Tenth Amendment state sovereignty rights as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and deny any foreign refugee, Syrian or otherwise, from entering the state of Idaho without going through a complete vetting process for immigration; and furthermore, be it 

RESOLVED, that the Boundary County Board of Commissioners urges Governor Butch Otter and the Idaho State Legislature to take further steps to protect the lives and property of its citizens with the formation of a task force to determine if it is in the best interests of its citizens to accept any Middle Eastern refugees into Idaho, solely based on the determination by the federal government that said refugees are completely vetted and will not cause harm to its citizens and that all of the county’s and state’s concerns are satisfactorily addressed.

The foregoing was duly enacted as a Resolution of the Board of County Commissioners of Boundary County, Idaho on the 7th day of December, 2015.