Syrian Village 'Imminent' Threat: Oakland Executive

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Warning Wednesday that a Syrian refugee housing project in Pontiac exposes the county to “imminent danger,” Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson called on Pontiac Mayor Dierdre Waterman to immediately halt work on the project in the wake of last week’s deadly terror attacks that killed 129 in Paris and 43 in Beirut.

“I am dismayed by Pontiac’s agreement to develop a Syrian Refugee Village within its borders,” Patterson wrote in a sharply worded letter, the Detroit Free Press and The Oakland Press are reporting.

“Pontiac is the county seat for Oakland County and thus a focal point. Any program such as the acceptance of refugees from Syria under current conditions constitutes an immediate threat of imminent danger,” Patterson wrote. “I am not overreacting to the tragedy that befell Paris. I am pointing out that lax immigration policies contributed to this terror.”

The letter from Patterson, a Republican, came days after Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder reversed his position on welcoming scores of Syrian refugees to the state. Governors in 30 other states also said their states should not accept Syrian refugees, though the final decision on that rests with federal authorities.

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The plan in Pontiac involves the conversion of buildings owned by Live in Pontiac LLC and Pontiac Community Investment LLC. Investors reportedly own about 120 lots around a former elementary school.

Patterson said that though the Syrian Refugee Village “ may well have been a well-intentioned program initially,” there’s no way for developers to guarantee that ISIS “infiltrators” won’t settle there.

Patterson said the discovery of an emergency Syrian passport found at the scene of one of the attacks in Paris that matched one used by a refugee is “indisputable evidence … that the ranks of the refugees have been and will continue to be infiltrated by those who would harm or kill us.”

“I owe it to the residents of Oakland County to stop this Syrian Refugee Village from going forward, to send out an alert to the public of what constitutes an imminent threat, and to demand that this project be stopped now,” he wrote.

The county executive has ordered all departments in Oakland County government to disavow support for the plans in Pontiac. He also called on Oakland County Treasurer Andy Meisner to end any assistance for the project.

Waterman told The Oakland Press that Patterson shouldn’t use the project “to score political points.”

She said his letter “assumes I am not equally concerned about the safety and welfare of my fellow citizens of Pontiac — a false and perverse notion. Pontiac will be guided by (Gov. Rick Snyder’s) position and his review of the federal government’s (efforts) to guard against terrorist infiltrators.”

Like Waterman, Meisner said Patterson is politicizing a project that not only brings much needed economic development to Pontiac, but also housing ”for people desperately in need who have undergone exhaustive background checks.”

“Please remember that Oakland County is made up of many thousands of Americans born in other countries, including many where terrible things happened, and that they are contributing greatly to Oakland County’s prosperity and security every day,” Meisner said.

» Photo via Creative Commons