T
he City of Reno said today that it did not officially support an application by the Northern Nevada International Center (NNIC) to the U.S. State Department for Reno to become a refugee city.
Citing a staff error, the city rebuffed the NNIC’s portion of the application that said NNIC had official support from the city.
“Neither the Mayor nor the City Manager’s offices approved any statement and attribute the mistake to a staff error,” according to a statement sent today to the news media. “While the City supports NNIC’s mission of citizen diplomacy and in fact hosted a delegation recently, the City did not submit any letter of support.”
Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve said that in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris, the City of Reno continues to follow the Syrian refugee crisis and remains sensitive to the situation.
“Our country was built on the values of being open and welcoming, but in light of the recent events,” she said, “(the City) supports a rigorous vetting process for those who wish to enter our country.”
Last week, Governor Brian Sandoval said that refugee placement is a federal process.
“A preliminary review of state and federal law indicates that the Governor does not have the authority to halt refugee placement,” according to a statement from the Governor’s Office. “However, recognizing public concern, (the Governor) asked the President to pause placement of Syrian refugees until a thorough review by the White House of the security background check process can occur.
“The Governor has also requested an opinion from Attorney General Laxalt that details the Governor’s authority regarding refugee relocation and resettlement processes and the implications of any actions the state might take.”
A request for comment was left today to NNIC’s executive director.
