US state governors refuse to accept Syrian refugees

A string of US governors have said they will refuse the resettlement of Syrian refugees in their home states in the wake of the deadly Paris attacks, prompting accusations of Islamophobia.

At least 16 state governors from the Republican party said on Sunday and Monday that they would refuse to accept Syrian refugees.

The states are: Texas, Georgia, Ohio, Massachusetts, Alabama, Michigan, Louisiana, Indiana, Florida, Mississippi, Arizona, Illinois, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Arkansas.
The announcements come just days after a series of assaults across the French capital left 129 dead and more than 350 injured. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group claimed the attacks.

Several governors cited reports that a Syrian passport was found near the body of one of the suspected attackers, who was killed during the incident.

While states do not have the authority to prevent the resettlement of refugees within their borders, governors can order their local refugee programmes not to cooperate with the federal government.

Nonetheless, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), a civil rights group, says the governors' announcements are indicative of growing Islamophobia among many in the US...
 aljazeera.com
17/11/15