PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — A group of state lawmakers has proposed a bill aiming to suspend refugee resettlement in South Dakota from countries appearing on “any federal travel ban list.”
Republican Sen. Neal Tapio’s bill would direct the state to refuse “chain migration” into South Dakota from citizens of countries on such a list. That preferential system gives advantages to the relatives of legal immigrants.
The Supreme Court is to decide the legality of President Donald Trump’s ban on travel to the U.S. by residents of six majority-Muslim countries.
The South Dakota bill, introduced Thursday, would require legislative approval for the state or contracted agencies to help with refugee resettlement or “chain migration” of people from Sudan, Syria, Somalia, Iran, Libya, Yemen and North Korea.
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Tapio says the state should have a right to determine who comes to South Dakota.