Can We Act Globally While Thinking Locally? Responding to Stella Burch Elias, the Perils and Possibilities of Refugee Federalism

10 Pages Posted: 12 Oct 2017

See all articles by Kit Johnson

Kit Johnson

University of Oklahoma - College of Law

Date Written: October 12, 2017

Abstract

In The Perils and Possibilities of Refugee Federalism, Professor Stella Burch Elias skillfully exposes both the dangers and the opportunities presented by state responses to the resettlement of refugees within their borders. She concludes that states are prohibited from excluding refugees from their territory, but she argues that states have a previously untapped opportunity to legislate at the local level in an effort to promote the integration of refugees into their communities.

This Response does not challenge those conclusions. Rather, this Response seeks to provide context to the idea of refugee federalism by further discussing the problem, acknowledged by Professor Elias, that, legal or not, states are successfully avoiding the placement of refugees within their borders. Additionally, this Response attempts to articulate a concern that increasing state involvement regarding the selection of refugees may exacerbate the nimbyism that already pervades the treatment of refugees in the United States.

Keywords: immigration, migration, refugees, asylum, federalism

JEL Classification: K1, K37

Suggested Citation

Johnson, Kit, Can We Act Globally While Thinking Locally? Responding to Stella Burch Elias, the Perils and Possibilities of Refugee Federalism (October 12, 2017). 67 American University Law Review 101 (2017), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3051627

Kit Johnson (Contact Author)

University of Oklahoma - College of Law ( email )

300 Timberdell Road
Norman, OK 73019
United States

HOME PAGE: http://kitjohnson.net

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