A number of prominent U.S. governors have pledged to protect their respective states from potential terrorist attacks. In a series of announcements, 18 governors, most of them Republicans, explicitly stated that they do not want any refugees in their states, according to NBC News.
In an announcement on Monday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott stated that his refusal to grant asylum to refugees is motivated by his desire to keep the inhabitants of Texas safe. "The first and foremost responsibility of government is to keep its people safe. We are working on measures to ensure that Texans will be kept safe from those refugees," he said.
Robert Bentley, governor of Alabama, shared the Texas governor's sentiment. He said his decision was made in part due to the discovery that one of the men behind the Paris attacks might have posed as a refugee.
"After full consideration of this weekend's attacks of terror on innocent citizens in Paris, I will oppose any attempt to relocate Syrian refugees to Alabama through the US. Refugee Admissions Program. As governor, I will not stand complicit to a policy that places the citizens of Alabama in harm's way," he said, according to The Express UK.
The governors of Indiana and Illinois have also announced their suspension of the resettlement of Syrian refugees in their area. However, the governors of Massachusetts, Arkansas, Michigan, Arizona, Florida, Wisconsin, Mississippi, Kansas and Georgia have stated that they would require thorough background checks on refugees before accepting them.
The United States has granted asylum to about 2,000 refugees from Syria since 2012, and United States President Barack Obama has stated that the U.S. plans to accept 10,000 more.
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