JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi and Arkansas have joined the states refusing to accept refugees from Syria.
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson said, “As governor, I oppose any facility or installation in Arkansas being used as a Syrian refugee center. Many of the Syrian refugees are fleeing violence in their own country but Europe, Asia or Africa are logically the best places for resettlement or for temporary asylum. Syria is a war torn country and the United States will support our European friends in fighting ISIL in Syria and elsewhere; however, this is not the right strategy for the United States to become a permanent place of relocation. Again, I will oppose Arkansas being used as such a relocation center.
Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, Michigan, Illinois and New Hampshire are also refusing Syrian immigrants.
New Hampshire is the first state with a Democratic governor to call for Syrian refugees to stay out of the state.
“Protecting the safety and security of our people is the first responsibility of government,” a spokesman for Gov. Maggie Hassan said in a statement. “The Governor believes that the federal government should halt acceptance of refugees from Syria until intelligence and defense officials can assure that the process for vetting all refugees, including those from Syria, is as strong as possible to ensure the safety of the American people.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbot said the refusal is directly tied to attacks in Paris and that it appears at least one terrorist came into France with Syrian refugees.
“The FBI director testified to Congress that the federal government does not have the background information that is necessary to effectively conduct proper security checks on Syrian nationals, Director Comey explained: “‘We can query our database until the cows come home, but there will be nothing show up because we have no record of them. The hardships facing these refugees and their families are beyond most of our understanding, and my thoughts and prayers are with them, but I will not support a policy that is not the best solution and that poses risk to Arkansans.”
“Michigan is a welcoming state and we are proud of our rich history of immigration,” Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said in a statement. “But our first priority is protecting the safety of our residents.”
See my full statement on Syrian refugees below. pic.twitter.com/Y2m7ThqCCK
— Gov. Asa Hutchinson (@AsaHutchinson) November 16, 2015
Here is the full text of the letter from Governor Abbott:
Dear President Obama: As governor of Texas, I write to inform you that the State of Texas will not accept any refugees from Syria in the wake of the deadly terrorist attack in Paris.
Further, I – and millions of Americans – implore you to halt your plans to accept more Syrian refugees in the United States. A Syrian “refugee” appears to have been part of the Paris terror attack. American humanitarian compassion could be exploited to expose Americans to similar deadly danger. The reasons for such concerns are plentiful.
The FBI director testified to Congress that the federal government does not have the background information that is necessary to effectively conduct proper security checks on Syrian nationals, Director Comey explained: “‘We can query our database until the cows come home, but there will be nothing show up because we have no record of them.”
The threat posed to Texas by ISIS is very real. ISIS claimed credit last May when two terrorist gunmen launched an attack in Garland, Texas. Less than two weeks later, the FBI arrested an Iraqi-born man in North Texas and charged him with lying to federal agents about traveling to Syria to fight with ISIS. And in 2014, when I served as Texas attorney general, we participated in a Joint Terrorism Task Force that arrested two Austin residents for providing material support to terrorists – including ISIS.
Given the tragic attack in Paris and the threats we have already seen in Texas, coupled with the FBI director’s acknowledgment that we do not have the information necessary to effectively vet Syrian nationals, Texas cannot participate in any program that will result in Syrian refugees – any one of whom could be connected to terrorism – being resettled in Texas.
Effective today, I am directing the Texas Health & Human Services Commission’s Refugee Resettlement Program to not participate in the resettlement of any Syrian refugees in the State of Texas. And I urge you, as president, to halt your plans to allow Syrians to be resettled anywhere in the United States. Neither you nor any federal official can guarantee that Syrian refugees will not be part of any terrorist activity. As such, opening our door to them irresponsibly exposes our fellow Americans to unacceptable peril.
