SE Valley Times

The state of Arizona will continue to allow the resettlement of refuges in 2020 after Gov. Doug Ducey recently agreed to accept President Donald Trump’s executive order allowing cities and states the right to bar refugees.

"Throughout our nation's history, the United States has been a refuge for individuals fleeing religious and political persecution in their homeland, and Arizona has historically been one of the most welcoming states in terms of the number of refugees resettled here," Ducey said, in a letter he recently sent to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

The agreement comes less than four years after Ducey was one of almost two dozen governors that fought to block the federal government from resettling refugees in their states following a deadly terrorist attack in Paris that killed 130 people and wounded hundreds more.

At the time, Ducey and others argued that terrorists could scheme to infiltrate refugee populations and wreak havoc across the country.

Ducey sent a letter to Pompeo the same day that upwards of 300 evangelicals sent a letter pushing Ducey to continue allowing refugees to resettle in Arizona. Arizona is now one of four states with Republican governors.

Arizona joins at least three other states with Republican governors that have announced they will accept refugees under the new rule. Based on the latest data composed by the state department, Arizona is now home to the seventh-highest number of refugees as almost 1,200 came to the state in August.