U.S. states shun Syria refugees in wake of Paris attacks

Dalrymple joined other governors Tuesday on a call with senior administration officials from the White House, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of State and the National Counterterrorism Center to express his concerns with the administration’s plan to resettle Syrian refugees.

Governors from 34 states participated in the 90-minute call, led by White House chief of staff Denis McDonough, and 13 governors asked questions about the program, the White House said in a statement.

An Obama administration official said more than half of Syrian refugees admitted to the U.S so far have been children, while 2 percent are “single man of combat age” and 2.5 percent is older than 60 years of age.

According to federal law, the federal government is responsible for determining who can come into the country and who can stay, but Fabrizio said state governments can slow down the process. Donald Trump said the US should increase surveillance of mosques, consider closing any tied to radicals and be prepared to suspend some civil liberties.

The bill is aimed at strengthening vetting procedures for Syrian as well as Iraqi refugees in the wake of Friday’s attacks that killed 129 people in Paris.

At least two dozen governors, mostly Republicans, have spoken out in their opposition to allowing Syrian refugees into their states.

Obama reiterated his support for accepting Syrian refugees at a press conference Monday morning.

A US lawmaker introduced a bill aiming to toughen the vetting process for refugees seeking to enter the United States as Republican leaders in Congress sought to block Syrians fleeing war in their country.

“We can be compassionate and we can also be safe”, Ryan said Wednesday.

“Filling your country up with people who have a completely different belief system… and expecting they won’t rise up against their benefactor is foolish”, Rep. Steve King of Iowa, a leading immigration hardliner, said in an interview Tuesday. “And it needs to stop”. “While I agree that the United States should try to assist individuals in such dire situations, it is precisely because of the situation in Syria that makes their admission into the United States a potential threat to our national security”.

Here’s a look at why some states are balking, what federal officials and refugee experts are saying and how the refugee resettlement process works.

“It’s also important to remember that these attacks are the efforts of extremists and do not reflect the peaceful ways of people of Middle Eastern descent here and around the world”, he added in his statement.