Kentucky will accept refugees, governor tells Trump administration

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) says his state will continue to welcome refugees months after an executive order issued by the Trump administration allowed states to turn them away.

According to The Associated Press, Beshear announced the move in a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Michael (Mike) Richard PompeoPompeo slams Russia, China over veto of humanitarian aid to Syria North Korea envoy Stephen Biegun sworn in as Pompeo's No. 2 at State Dept. The Hill's 12:30 Report — Presented by UANI — Sparks fly at last Democratic debate of the year MORE last week.

“Kentucky has welcomed refugees for well over three decades,” he reportedly stated in the letter. “Refugees in Louisville, Lexington, Bowling Green, Owensboro and other locales have contributed to the workforce and economic development of our state.”

The move follows similar announcements made by other Democratic governors in recent months, including Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf.

President Trump Donald John TrumpClyburn to White House: 'I am not going to be intimidated' Trump to headline event for evangelicals in the new year Brazil's Bolsonaro says Trump won't pursue steel, aluminum tariffs MORE said in the order issued in September that he had determined that the federal government should resettle refugees only in jurisdictions “in which both the State and local governments have consented to receive refugees under the Department of State’s Reception and Placement Program.”

The president wrote that within 90 days of the order, the heads of the State Department and Department of Health and Human Services would be tasked with rolling out “a process to determine whether the State and locality both consent, in writing, to the resettlement of refugees within the State and locality, before refugees are resettled within that State and locality under the Program. The Secretary of State shall publicly release any written consents of States and localities to resettlement of refugees.”

The order arrived on the heels of a White House proposal to slash the cap for refugees who could be admitted to the U.S. to 18,000 for fiscal 2020. The figure is a significant reduction from former President Obama’s proposed cap of 116,000 refugees in his last year of office.