Watch: Lawmakers Hear Testimony on Refugee Resettlement Bills
Columbia , S.C. (WOLO) — The debate over whether or not South Carolina should accept Syrian refugees began at the state house Tuesday on a bill that would prevent state agencies from working with refugees programs until the federal government creates stricter security measures and a second bill that would require refugees to register with the Department of Social Services.
“In some parts of the world, the mentality is the right thing to do is to kill Christians and to kill Americans and some of these refugees are coming from some of those parts of the world,” said Senator Kevin Bryant.
In a Senate subcommittee Tuesday, one of the organizations in the state that helps resettle refugees, Lutheran Services Carolinas, spoke out against the legislation.
While lawmakers will continue to hear testimony on the separate bills in the weeks to come, members of the senate disagree on the urgency of getting the bills to the senate floor for consideration.
“The people I’ve talked to are worried about fixing the roads and the education system and if we don’t focus on roads and education this session, we’re missing the boat, the refugee issue is a national issue,” said Senator Brad Hutto.
“If you don’t keep your people safe, your schools won’t be safe, your roads won’t be safe these terrorists are taking any means, they aren’t really concerned about human life so we want to keep all our people safe,” explained Senator Lee Bright.
Lawmakers say they will continue to hear testimony. On Wednesday, the general committee will meet to discuss the bills and hear more testimony.
