A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis, serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. © James Conner.
Gov. Steve Bullock reiterated yesterday that keeping Montanans safe is his top priority, but said he has no plans to refuse to allow the federal government to resettle Syrian refugees in Montana. No such resettlement plans exist, but it’s good he’s not swearing that no refugee from Syria ever will settle under the Big Sky because, as Ian Millhiser notes at Think Progress, neither Bullock nor any other governor has the power to refuse refugees.
In theory, ISIS saboteurs could try to enter the U.S. by posing as refugees. But refugees are subjected to strict scrutiny, which terrorists try to avoid. If ISIS agents do slip into the U.S., they’ll arrive as tourists or businessmen, or just sneak across the border, which isn’t that hard and never will be impossible.
Moreover, if ISIS agents want to conduct terrorist operations against the U.S., they’ll probably do it in Europe or the Middle East. The odds that ISIS terrorists will settle in Montana posing as a refugee family from Syria are so low that it’s equally likely the cow will do a double backflip over the moon.