Group says Haslam, state lawmakers on ‘wrong side of history’ regarding Syrian refugees

NASHVILLE — A Tennessee group that works on behalf of immigrants and refugees today condemned state lawmakers’ calls to suspend resettlement of Syrians fleeing from the Islamic State at home and charged that both the lawmakers and Gov. Bill Haslam, who is now requesting a moratorium, “are on the wrong side of history.”

In their news release, the Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition said Haslam has joined a “handful of reactionary governors.”

“In the wake of the tragedies in Paris, Beirut, and Baghdad, and in the context of the largest displacement of people since World War II, we are called to act with compassion and leadership, not fear and misplaced blame,” said Stephanie Teatro, co-executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition.

Teatro said refugees from Syria and across the region “are fleeing terror and violence, themselves victims of ISIS. It is morally incomprehensible to blame and punish these victims for the actions of terrorists. It is an act of shameful cowardice and a betrayal of our ideals and aspirations as a nation to turn our back on Syrian refugees.”

Haslam, a Republican, announced his request to the federal government as the political reactions from Friday’s terror attacks in Paris began filtering down from the national level to Tennessee and other states.

Earlier Monday as two top Republican leaders — Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey and House Speaker Beth Harwell — called on Tennessee’s congressional delegation “to advocate strongly for an immediate moratorium on refugees entering the United States, specifically Tennessee.”

“Recent events have made it clear that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is ramping up its operations of terror against the United States and Europe,” the speakers said in their letter. “Tennessee itself experienced an act of terrorism just a few months ago in Chattanooga. Our thoughts and prayers are with the citizens of France.”