The day after a family of six Syrian refugees arrived in the Lone Star State, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) announced a bill that would give any state the right to reject a refugee for security concerns.
The bill would require the federal government to give 21 days' notice to any state receiving a refugee. It would also allow the governor of a state to reject any refugee without "adequate assurance" that the refugee doesn't present a security risk.
Speaking at a news conference with Cruz, Abbott said Tuesday that he and other governors needed more tools to fight the federal refugee resettlement process.
"America is a charitable nation, but we can't allow charity for some to compromise the safety for all," said Abbott.
Abbott said he wants to ensure Syrian refugees "who could pose a danger to the people of the state of Texas" will not be allowed in.
Cruz said he disagrees with Donald Trump's call to ban Muslims from coming into the United States, but he supports governors like Abbott who don't want Syrian refugees in their states.
"We face an enemy who has stated their intention to bring death to America," he said. "We need that strength and resolve in leadership in the United States to keep our citizens safe."
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Cruz is calling on banning refugees for a three-year period if they are from a state where the Islamic State Group is active. He also said any American who trains with ISIS should lose citizenship.
"Our first obligation should be to protect our national security," Cruz said.
Many lawmakers already say Cruz' plan opposes American values.
Meanwhile, a Syrian family of six went to live near relatives Monday who were already living in the Dallas area, defying efforts Abbott's efforts, said Lucy Carrigan, a spokeswoman for the International Rescue Committee.
The DFW International Community Alliance had set up a press conference for the family to speak to the media on Wednesday in Dallas.
However on Tuesday evening, the International Rescue Committee that helped bring the family to Texas said it did not sanction a press conference and said the family did not want to talk, therefore, there will not be a press conference.
Abbott was among more than two dozen Republican governors who said they would refuse any new Syrian refugees following the deadly Nov. 13 Paris attacks, which have been linked to the Islamic State group operating in Syria.
But federal officials and refugee agencies have continued resettlement. They say states are denying a safe haven to families displaced by war, and that a state's role in resettlement does not include the authority to block them.
In Dallas, the family of six settled into an apartment with basic furniture and a stocked refrigerator, Carrigan said.
"They seem very happy," Carrigan said. "And it was almost like breathing a sigh of relief that they have arrived. This has been a long journey for them, and it's been a long journey for a lot of Syrian refugees."
Texas has taken in more refugees than any other state in the last five years, including about 250 Syrian refugees. But it also fought harder than any other state to stop Syrian refugees after the attacks.
Texas' health commissioner sent letters to refugee resettlement agencies threatening them with the loss of state cooperation if they continued to bring in Syrians. They then filed a lawsuit against the International Rescue Committee and the federal government.
The state has since backed down from an immediate demand to halt the arrival of Syrian refugees. A hearing is expected in the lawsuit next week.
According to court filings made by federal officials, 15 additional Syrians are expected to arrive in Houston this week.
Carrigan declined to make family members available for an interview, but she said they were not fazed by the state's fight or concerns that they might not be welcome in Texas.
"They would just say that they were very happy to be coming here," Carrigan said.
A spokesperson for Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) released the following statement from Cornyn:
"What Americans expect is that their elected officials and office holders will do everything they can to help keep them safe. And as the FBI director has previously testified, it is not possible to query a database on a Syrian refugee when in fact there is nothing in the database. And we simply don't have the history or the background or the intelligence to be able to vet many of these refugees. Until we do, I believe it is important we hit the pause button."
Spokespeople for U.S. Reps. Michael Burgess, Pete Sessions, John Ratcliffe and Joe Barton tell NBC 5 they favor Cruz's plan.
U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey opposes Cruz's plan, saying the following:
"I am opposed to Senator Cruz's 'State Refugee Security' Act. Senator Cruz is an experienced attorney who knows that this is a ridiculous and bad law. It's not a serious policy recommendation – it's a campaign stunt in an effort to be as outrageous as Donald Trump and he's getting close. Let me be clear: governors cannot refuse to accept refugees in their states because immigration is a federal responsibility. Republicans have made a habit of questioning President Obama's legal authority regarding immigration. Republicans at both the federal and state level should take a hard look at the state of their party, the hateful image they are projecting to the world about America, and once and for all quit inciting fear to score cheap political points."
A spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Kay Granger said she had not yet reviewed the legislation, however
she is a co-sponsor of a very similar bill introduced by U.S. Rep Ted Poe in November, so she would likely support Cruz's bill if it came to the House.
NBC 5's Holley Ford and Julie Fine contributed to this report.
