Catholic Church in US defies governor of Indiana to welcome Syrian refugees

A family of Syrian refugees have been resettled in Indianapolis by the Catholic Church in direct contravention of a state-wide moratorium on any new refugees arriving into Indiana last week.

The arrival was a victory for Indianapolis Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin and the archdiocese’s refugee and immigrant services which lobbied for the family who have relatives in the area to be allowed to continue their journey to the US from the holding camp in Amman, in Jordan, where they had been since fleeing war-torn Syria three years ago.

The family underwent two years of extensive security checks and personal interviews by the US authorities before their application for refugee status was accepted.

“I thank Governor [Mike] Pence for meeting with me last Wednesday, when I was able to explain in some detail the plight of this family as well as the role of the Archdiocese's Refugee and Immigrant Services program in welcoming them to Indianapolis, where the family already has some relatives,” the archbishop stated in the press release.

Last month, Indiana governor Mike Pence barred state agencies from taking in Syrian families until "proper security measures are in place", citing the Paris terror attacks.

“Indiana has a long tradition of opening our arms and homes to refugees from around the world but, as governor, my first responsibility is to ensure the safety and security of all Hoosiers," Pence said in a statement.

About 40 Syrian refugees have been resettled in Indiana since 2010 and the state takes in about 1,600 refugees from around the world each year, with the largest population being Burmese.

After Pence barred the admission of Syrian refugees, the Archdiocese of Indianapolis said it had raised enough private funds to take the financial burden of resettlement off the state.

“We think that when everybody sits down and reviews the case and looks at the facts, people will see that this is a family that had to flee their home and have been the victims of serious violence around them,” said archdiocesan spokesman Greg Otolski. “And this is what we do, as the Catholic Church in Indiana, with refugees from anywhere.”

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"I listened to the governor's concerns regarding security and prayerfully considered his request that we defer from welcoming them until Congress had approved new legislation regarding immigrants and refugees," Archbishop Tobin said.

"I informed the governor prior to the family's arrival that I had asked the staff of Catholic Charities to receive this husband, wife and their two small children as planned," Archbishop Tobin said.

The governor's office immediately issued a statement that, while the governor "holds Catholic Charities in the highest regard," he "respectfully disagrees with their decision to place a Syrian refugee family in Indiana at this time".

Pence, however, said that he would not block the refugee family from receiving state aid such as food stamps and health care, though he told the media he continues to oppose the family's relocation to Indiana.

David Bethuram, director of Catholic Charities Indianapolis, said his office has received numerous calls of support for the resettlement of the family - from offers of living space to offers of financial assistance, and even "calls just saying 'we support what you're doing'.

"It's given us a good opportunity to explain to people the process of refugee resettlement, this avenue of the church to welcome [refugees]," he said. "We've done it for 40 years, and will continue to do it."

There is a similar story in Texas whose governor also banned Syrian refugees from being housed away from harm in his state.

A family of six were brought over to live near relatives already living in the Dallas area on Monday, while another couple and their four daughters were settled in Houston.

An additional nine refugees are expected to arrive later in the week.

"We can reassure all Texans that the refugees are receiving a warm and compassionate welcome from staff and volunteers," said Aaron Rippenkroeger, president of the Refugee Services of Texas.

In total, 31 governors across the US have said that Syrian refugees are not welcome - a policy shift that mirrors the changing attitude to refugees in the US. After the Paris terror attacks, a majority of Americans polled for the first time disagreed with any policy to welcome Syrian refugees to the country.

Last week Donald Trump attempted to plant his flag on that popular ground by declaring the US should bar all Muslims from travelling to the US.

Although he states his policies are on a par with the UK Independence Party, its leader Nigel Farage has distanced himself from the comments saying they were a “political mistake too far”.

UK voters on not enamoured with the majority view in  petition lodged with Parliament to bar Trump from visiting Britain has currently collected more than 405,000 signatures. Any petition with more than 100,000 signatures is automatically considered for debate in the House of Commons.

Additional reporting by Natalie Hoefer who is a reporter at The Criterion, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis