Governor Deal says no Syrian refugees, Clarkston mayor calls for compassion

The governors each cited security concerns in announcements Monday, including word that one of the Paris attackers may have been a Syrian refugee, but President Barack Obama is among those already calling the decision un-American.

At the end of the letter, the Governor urged President Obama to follow suit and not allow Syrians to be resettled anywhere in the United States.

The second-term Democrat acknowledged the terror attacks in Paris last Friday but said, “We will work with the federal government and Homeland Security to ensure the national verification process for refugees are as stringent as possible”. Syrian refugees are now being shunned stronger than before over fears that terrorists could be mixed in with them.

However, the State Department says refugee status gives individuals both legal status in the US and freedom to move from state to state, making it unclear whether the states have the power to reject them.

The US State Department lawyers are investigating whether governors can legally block Syrian refugees from being settled in their states.

The news has left many to question what should happen with the Syrian refugee program in the U.S.

Allowing refugees to come into the country “is not only misguided, it is extremely risky”, said Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant. According to the governor, “several organizations” had requested that DCF help relocate 425 of those refugees to the Sunshine State. “This is a federal program”, Branstad said. He said the Christian refugees pose “no meaningful risk” of committing acts of terror.

While more than half the nation’s governors are closing their doors to Syrian refugees, Governor John Hickenlooper is keeping Colorado’s door open.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in September that Obama ordered his administration to “scale up” the number of Syrian refugees admitted to the U.S. for next fiscal year, beginning October 1.

The governor said she has confidence in the two refugee processing affiliates in the state.

“Minnesota families deserve an assurance from the federal government that the screening processes in place are thorough enough to prevent terrorists from entering our state before the relocation of refugees begins”, Daudt wrote.