Syrian children play in Dearborn in April (Photo Tracy Kaye Photog. )
Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson says he will file a lawsuit to prevent more Syrian refugees from settling in Oakland County, saying they're not being properly screened.
At the same time, the Jewish Community Relations Council, based in Bloomfield Hills, has expressed concern about the "callous and reckless fear-mongering.” It is calling on Oakland County officials to welcome the refugees, Anne Runkle of the Oakland Press reports.
"We are greatly dismayed by the callous and reckless fear-mongering and anti-refugee sentiments that have recently been expressed in Oakland County,” Richard Krugel, president of the organization, said in a statement, the paper reports.
“Oakland County is home to the majority of the Michigan Jewish community. We are keenly aware of a time in American history when Jewish refugees were turned away from America’s shores, not able to land after glimpsing America’s symbolic welcoming figure, the Statue of Liberty. We must not return to those ugly times."
Oakland County leads Michigan in refugee resettlement and Michigan leads the nation, the Oakland Press reports.
