Gov. Pat McCrory called on the Obama administration Monday to stop resettling Syrian refugees in North Carolina, citing security concerns in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris.
The Republican governor said he was joining many other states in taking action on Syrian refugees, including Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi and Texas.
Speaking at an afternoon news conference, McCrory said “because of the terrorist attacks in Paris and the very real possibility that one of the terrorists entered France as a recent refugee, I am requesting that the federal government cease sending refugees from Syria to North Carolina.”
“My primary duty as governor is to protect the citizens of North Carolina, which is why I am taking the steps I have outlined today,” he continued.
Charlotte Mayor-elect Jennifer Roberts, a Democrat, said she hopes the state will continue to take in Syrians, given the deprivation and violence they are fleeing amid the war raging across their native country.
“I would hope that we would continue to welcome refugees who have been certified by the United Nations high commissioner for refugees,” she told reporters attending the Aspen Institute’s Latinos and Society Program Monday. “You have to go through a lot of hurdles to be classified as a refugee.”
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