A growing number of U.S. states are saying they either won’t take in refugees from Syria, or are asking members of Congress to stop the Obama administration from placing refugees in their state.
As of Tuesday morning, the following states were opposed to taking refugees — most have Republican governors, although New Hampshire has a Democratic governor:
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
These states have said they will take refugees, but some have given conditions:
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Hawaii
- Minnesota
- Montana
- Pennsylvania
- Vermont
- Washington
In some cases, like Florida, governors were asking members of Congress to intervene because they don’t have the legal authority to stop the Obama administration’s placement of refugees.
“[I]t is our understanding that the state does not have the authority to prevent the federal government from funding the relocation of these Syrian refugees to Florida even without state support,” Florida Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, wrote.
In a statement, a spokesman for Ohio governor and Republican presidential candidate John Kasich said the governor would be sending a letter to Obama asking him to stop resettling Syrians in the U.S.
“The governor doesn’t believe the U.S. should accept additional Syrian refugees because security and safety issues cannot be adequately addressed,” the statement said. “We are also looking at what additional steps Ohio can take to stop resettlement of these refugees.”
But others were more blunt, like Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott, who said his state “will not accept any Syrian refugees.” In a tweet, the Republican governor encouraged the entire United States to “act similarly. Security comes first.”
BREAKING: Texas will not accept any Syrian refugees & I demand the U.S. act similarly. Security comes first.https://t.co/uE34eluXYd
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) November 16, 2015
Abbott also wrote a letter to President Obama informing him of his decision.
“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,” he wrote.
In Louisiana, Republican presidential hopeful and Gov. Bobby Jindal issued an executive order Monday to prevent Syrian refugees from being resettled in his state. He cited a section of the Louisiana Constitution that says “during times of emergency… the governor has emergency powers to protect the citizens and property of the state of Louisiana.”
Jindal also sent a letter to Obama on Saturday demanding information about the refugees being placed in Louisiana.
“The state of Illinois will temporarily suspend accepting new Syrian refugees,” said Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner Monday afternoon. Rauner is a Republican.
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant wrote on Facebook that he was working with his state’s homeland security department to “determine the current status of any Syrian refugees that may be brought to our state in the near future.”
“I will do everything humanly possible to stop any plans from the Obama administration to put Syrian refugees in Mississippi. The policy of bringing these individuals into the country is not only misguided, it is extremely dangerous. I’ll be notifying President Obama of my decision today to resist this potential action,” Bryant wrote.
Governors from the states of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Washington have said they will accept refugees.
“It is unfortunate that anyone would use the tragic events in Paris to send a message that we do not understand the plight of these refugees, ignoring the fact that the people we are talking about are fleeing the perpetrators of terror,” Delaware Gov. Jack Markell, a Democrat, said in a statement.
In September, the State Department said it would accept 10,000 Syrian refugees next year who are fleeing the war-stricken country as the Islamic State takes over. The state reactions pose yet another challenge to the Obama administration, which has said it won’t change its approach to fighting the terrorist group, and does not support sending group troops to the Middle East after last week’s attacks in Paris that killed 129 people.
This story was first published on Nov. 16 at 11 a.m. and has been updated.
