In one of his first moves after being sworn in, Democrat Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear (below) has informed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that he will welcome (Muslim) refugees that other states have turned away. He also has restored voting rights to over 140k felons.

Per TheHill Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) says his state will continue to welcome refugees months after an executive order issued by the Trump administration allowed states to turn them away.

Mike Pompeo According to The Associated Press , Beshear announced the move in a letter to Secretary of Statelast week.

“Kentucky has welcomed refugees for well over three decades,” he reportedly states in the letter. “Refugees in Louisville, Lexington, Bowling Green, Owensboro and other locales have contributed to the workforce and economic development of our state.” (The non-Muslim refugees, that is)

The move follows similar announcements made by Democratic governors in recent months, including Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D).

President Trump said in the order issued in September that he had determined that the federal government should only resettle refugees in jurisdictions “in which both the State and local governments have consented to receive refugees.

Section 1 . Purpose . In resettling refugees into American communities, it is the policy of the United States to cooperate and consult with State and local governments, to take into account the preferences of State governments, and to provide a pathway for refugees to become self-sufficient. Close cooperation with State and local governments ensures that refugees are resettled in communities that are eager and equipped to support their successful integration into American society and the labor force.

The Federal Government consults with State and local governments not only to identify the best environments for refugees, but also to be respectful of those communities that may not be able to accommodate refugee resettlement. State and local governments are best positioned to know the resources and capacities they may or may not have available to devote to sustainable resettlement, which maximizes the likelihood refugees placed in the area will become self-sufficient and free from long-term dependence on public assistance.

Section 6(d) of Executive Order 13780 of March 6, 2017 (Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States), directed the Secretary of State to determine the extent to which, consistent with applicable law, State and local jurisdictions could have greater involvement in the process of determining the placement or resettlement of refugees in their jurisdictions, and to devise a proposal to promote such involvement.

I have consulted with the Secretary of State and determined that, with limited exceptions, the Federal Government, as an exercise of its broad discretion concerning refugee placement accorded to it by the Constitution and the Immigration and Nationality Act, should resettle refugees only in those jurisdictions in which both the State and local governments have consented to receive refugees under the Department of State’s Reception and Placement Program (Program).

Here are answers to some key questions about Muslims, compiled from several Pew Research Centers reports published in recent years:

How many Muslims are there in the United States?

According to our estimate, there are about 3.45 million Muslims of all ages in the U.S., or about 1.1% of the U.S. population. This is based on an analysis of census statistics and data from a 2017 survey of U.S. Muslims, which was conducted in English as well as Arabic, Farsi and Urdu. Based on the same analysis, Pew Research Center also estimates that there are 2.15 million Muslim adults in the country, and that a majority of them (58%) are immigrants.

Our demographic projections estimate that Muslims will make up 2.1% of the U.S. population by the year 2050, surpassing people who identify as Jewish on the basis of religion as the second-largest faith group in the country (not including people who say they have no religion).

A 2013 Pew Research Center report estimated that the Muslim share of immigrants granted permanent residency status (green cards) increased from about 5% in 1992 to roughly 10% in 2012, representing about 100,000 immigrants in that year.

How do Americans view Muslims and Islam?

A Pew Research Center survey conducted in 2017 asked Americans to rate members of nine religious groups on a “feeling thermometer” from 0 to 100, where 0 reflects the coldest, most negative possible rating and 100 the warmest, most positive rating. Overall, Americans gave Muslims an average rating of 48 degrees, similar to atheists (50).

Americans view more warmly the seven other religious groups mentioned in the survey (Jews, Catholics, mainline Protestants, evangelical Christians, Buddhists, Hindus and Mormons). But views toward Muslims (as well as several of the other groups) are now warmer than they were a few years ago; in 2014, U.S. adults gave Muslims an average rating of 40 degrees in a similar survey.

Republicans and those who lean toward the Republican Party gave Muslims an average rating of 39, considerably cooler than Democrats’ rating toward Muslims (56).

This partisan gap extends to several other questions about Muslims and Islam. Indeed, Republicans and Republican leaners also are more likely than Democrats and those who lean Democratic to say they are very concerned about extremism in the name of Islam, both around the world (67% vs. 40%) and in the U.S. (64% vs. 30%). In addition, a December 2016 survey found that more Republicans than Democrats say Islam is likelier than other religions to encourage violence among its believers (63% vs. 26% of Democrats). And while most Americans (69%) believe there is a lot of discrimination against Muslims in the U.S. today, views are again split by party: 85% of Democrats and those who lean Democratic and 49% of Republicans and GOP leaners hold this view.

Republicans also are more likely than Democrats to say that Islam is not part of mainstream American society (68% vs. 37%) and that there is a natural conflict between Islam and democracy (65% vs. 30%).

About half of Americans (49%) think at least “some” U.S. Muslims are anti-American, greater than the share who say “just a few” or “none” are anti-American, according to a January 2016 survey. Views on this question have become much more partisan in the last 14 years (see graphic). But most Americans do not see widespread support for extremism among Muslims living in the U.S., according to a February 2017 survey. Overall, 40% say there is not much support for extremism among U.S. Muslims, while an additional 15% say there is none at all. About a quarter say there is a fair amount of support (24%) for extremism among U.S. Muslims; 11% say there is a great deal of support.

United States of Islamophobia: Muslims taking on what they consider to be anti-Muslim corporations and private citizens. What other religious group continuously slanders America’s most prominent corporations and individuals the way Muslims do? Answer: NONE. They even name, NIKE, the most Muslim-friendly company in America as “Islamophobic.”

Alabama

ANTI-MUSLIM CORPORATION: SOUTHERN COMPANY

The Southern Company, which owns Alabama Power, is one of the largest gas and electricity corporations in the US. The corporation is a major supporter of Alabama State Senator Gerald Allen, who spearheaded the effort to pass Alabama’s anti-Sharia law. The Southern Company, its employees, and political action committees have given $69,000 to Allen, making them one of the top donors over the course of his career. Allen Southern CEO Tom Fanning has also faced criticism for refusing to denounce Trump for saying that the group of white supremacists at the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2017 included some “very fine people.”

Alaska

ANTI-MUSLIM CORPORATION: GCI LIBERTY

GCI Liberty, which owns Charter Communications and Liberty Broadband, is one of the largest communications providers in Alaska and also one of its largest employers. GCI Liberty, its executives, and board members donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration festivities in 2017, even though Trump had run on an explicitly anti-Muslim platform. He enacted the first version of the Muslim ban mere days after his inauguration.

Arizona

ANTI-MUSLIM CORPORATION: RAYTHEON

Raytheon is a major military contractor and the world’s largest supplier of guided missiles. Its missiles have been used by the US and Israeli military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Palestine. Additionally, Trump’s May 2019 emergency declaration that fast-tracked weapons sales to the Saudis contained a provision that allows Raytheon to build high-tech bomb parts in Saudi Arabia. Human rights groups worry that the Saudis could use this technology in their genocidal assault on Yemen. Raytheon Missile Systems, the Raytheon subsidiaries that manufactures missiles, is based in Tucson, Arizona.

Arkansas

ANTI-MUSLIM CORPORATION: WALMART

Arkansas-based Walmart is a major supporter of anti-Muslim candidates in the state. Walmart, its employees, and political action committees donated more than $27,000 to the 2018 reelection campaigns of 38 members of the Arkansas State Legislature who voted for the anti-Sharia bill that passed in 2017.By giving to the campaigns of nearly half of the legislators who voted for the law, Walmart sent a clear message that the retail giant is okay with anti-Muslim bigotry.

California

ANTI-MUSLIM CORPORATION: GOOGLE

YouTube, which is owned by California-based Google, serves as a major platform for anti-Muslim and white supremacist content. According to researchers, the online video platform’s algorithm recommends more extreme and more incendiary videos, which automatically start playing when the previous video ends. White supremacists and other far-right personalities have figured out how to exploit the algorithm to try to spread their bigoted ideologies to large swaths of the population, leaving impressionable young people particulalry vulnerable to radicalization. There are entire YouTube channels devoted to anti-Muslim content, and stumbling onto one can quickly take users down a rabbit hole.

Dishonorable Mention: Facebook, Twitter, Uber, Charles Schwab

Colorado

ANTI-MUSLIM CORPORATION: CARGILL

Cargill, which runs a meatpacking plant in Fort Morgan, Colorado, had to pay $1.5 million in 2018 to settle charges that it discriminated against 138 Muslims by denying them prayer breaks and then firing them when they complained. Cargill’s political action committees and employees also gave tens of thousands of dollars during the 2018 election cycle to anti-Muslim candidates like Joe Arpaio, Lou Barletta, Ted Cruz, Ron DeSantis, Greg Gianforte, Amy Klobuchar, and Rick Scott.

Dishonorable Mention: Western Union