Gov. Phil Bryant’s decision to block additional legal child refugees from being resettled in Mississippi hasn’t changed following a Thursday meeting with Catholic, Methodist, and Episcopal leaders.
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Jackson runs the program under state sponsorship, which must be renewed every year.
Bryant again says he fears President Barack Obama will take over the program, which currently cares for 27 children in the state, and use it to bring children who immigrated illegally to Mississippi.
In a Thursday interview with Mississippi Public Broadcasting, Bryant said he didn’t know exactly where the refugee children were, saying they might be diseased or exploited.
Monsignor Elvin Sunds, deputy to Catholic Bishop of Jackson Joseph Kopacz, says Catholic Charities cares well for the children and meets state and national standards.
