THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON

November 30, 2015

The Honorable Gary Herbert
Governor
State of Utah
Utah State Capitol, Suite 200
Salt Lake City, UT 84114

The Honorable Terry McAuliffe
Governor
Commonwealth of Virginia
State Capitol, Third Floor
Richmond, VA 23219

Dear Governors Herbert and McAuliffe:
As part of our ongoing conversation with Governors across the country regarding the refugee
resettlement program, I write today in your capacity as Chair and Vice Chair of the National
Governors Association (NGA) to follow up on our phone call with Governors on November 17
and to propose that the Administration partner with the NGA to give Governors more routine and
regular access to information on refugee resettlement in the states.
On the call and in follow up conversations and correspondence, we have provided Governors a
detailed description of the process for vetting refugees and we continue to believe the security
vetting for this population is extraordinarily thorough and comprehensive. It is the most robust
screening process for any category of individuals seeking admission into the United States. The
process is multi-layered and intensive, involving multiple law enforcement, national security,
and intelligence agencies across the Federal Government. Additional precautions have been
added with regard to Syrian refugees and we continually evaluate whether more precautions are
necessary.
Notwithstanding this thorough vetting process, I wanted to follow up on requests fi'om
Governors for more consistent and official communication from the Administration about the
placement process.

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To that end and given NGA' s role as the collective voice of the nation's Governors on matters
related to national policy, I am proposing establishing a new process through the NGA for the
U.S. Depattment of State to accept individualized requests from Governors for more regular
access to refugee resettlement information.
Upon receipt of a Governor's request, the State Department would compile a tailored report for
the individual state submitting the request. The report would include information on refugees
resettled during the prior month and fiscal year-to-date.
In addition, at the request of the Governor, the State Depattment would provide this information
on a monthly recurring basis via a password protected website. The monthly report would
include the total number of refugees resettled in the state broken down by nationality, age range
and gender.
This proposal responds to Governors ' input while protecting the privacy of refugee families.
FUlthermore, the U.S. Depattment of State and the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services are prepared to brief Governors on the refugee resettlement process and to discuss
working together to improve the program at NGA's next convening. Additionally, the Secretary
of Homeland Security is prepared to work with NGA to provide further information to
Governors on the refugee vetting process and to discuss options for enhanced collaboration.
Finally, enclosed with this letter is a brief overview of the resettlement process here in the United
States, as well as contact information for points of contact within the key Federal agencies
responsible for administering and suppOlting the refugee resettlement program.
We look forward to continuing to work with the NGA to help Governors maintain this successful
program that over the last four decades has made the United States a leader in welcoming
refugees.

Sincerely,

Denis R. McDonough
Assistant to the President
and White House Chief of Staff