Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is among several U.S. governors who are threatening to halt efforts to allow Syrian refugees into their states in the aftermath of the coordinated attacks in Paris, though an immigration expert says they have no legal authority to do so.
As The Associated Press reports, the governors are responding to heightened concerns that terrorists might use the refugees as cover to sneak across borders. Authorities say a Syrian passport was found near one of the attackers, and the Paris prosecutors’ office says fingerprints from the attacker match those of someone who passed through Greece in October.
Jindal issued an executive order this afternoon to prevent the resettlement of Syrian refugees in Louisiana. Jindal sent a letter to the White House on Saturday, demanding to know how many Syrian refugees have been resettled in his state. He also wants to know the extent of background screening before Syrians entered the U.S. as well as what monitoring would be done once the refugees make it to Louisiana “in hopes that the night of horror in Paris is not duplicated here.”
A U.S. State Department spokesperson has told WWL-TV that 14 Syrian refugees have settled in Louisiana this year, including one in Baton Rouge. Millions of Syrians have fled to neighboring Middle Eastern countries and Europe, and President Barack Obama’s administration has pledged to accept about 10,000 Syrian refugees in the next 12 months. The U.S. State Department says the refugees would be spread across the country. Republican presidential candidates have criticized the plan.
Governors in at least a dozen states have thus far called for a halt of Syrian refugees to their states. Most of them are Republicans. However, at least one governor—Dannel P. Malloy of Connecticut, a Democrat—has said the state will continue to accept refugees from Syria.
The Associated Press has the full story.
