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— A letter signed by 43 rabbis in Texas called on the state’s Gov. Greg Abbott to remain in the United States refugee resettlement program.

“At this moment, with the number of refugees and displaced persons at its highest in recorded history, it is more important than ever for Texas to protect and welcome refugees,” read the letter sent Wednesday, hours after Abbott announced  that he was withdrawing his state from the program over concerns about the lack of effective security screening of the refugees.

“Despite multiple requests by the State of Texas, the federal government lacks the capability or the will to distinguish the dangerous from the harmless, and Texas will not be an accomplice to such dereliction of duty to the American people. Therefore, Texas will withdraw from the refugee resettlement program. I strongly urge the federal government to completely overhaul a broken and flawed refugee program that increasingly risks American lives,” Abbott said in a statement. The withdrawal is effective from Jan. 31, 2017.

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Texas has welcomed more refugees in recent years than any other state, including the most of any state between October 2015 and March 2016.

The rabbis’ letter sent Wednesday was spearheaded by HIAS, formerly the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, a global Jewish nonprofit that protects refugees which was founded in 1881 to help Jewish immigrants fleeing pogroms in Russia and Eastern Europe.

“Since its founding, the United States has offered refuge and protection to the world’s most vulnerable. Time and time again, those refugees were Jews. Whether they were welcomed to Texas by the “Galveston Movement” after fleeing Czarist Russia, or whether they came later following the horrors of the Holocaust, or the persecution in Soviet Russia or Iran, our relatives and friends found safety in this country, and in the great state of Texas,” read the letter.

“Refugees in Texas are taxpayers, consumers, business owners, and leaders in a broad range of industries across the state. It is imperative that refugees in Texas continue to be fully welcome and supported in their new homes and that they receive the critical health and social services promised to them,” the rabbis said.

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