At least two U.S. states are withdrawing their earlier plan to host refugees from Syria following the horrendous terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday night where at least one of the terrorists was found to be an Islamist militant who blended with the hordes of refugees to be able to enter Europe on his way to France.
Making separate announcements on Sunday, the governors of Alabama and Michigan said they are abandoning their plan to resettle refugees from Syria in their states, Fox News reported.
In Michigan, which has a large Arab-American population, Gov. Rick Snyder said he was putting his prior calls for the state to accept more refugees on hold.
"Michigan is a welcoming state and we are proud of our rich history of immigration," Snyder said in a statement. "But our first priority is protecting the safety of our residents."
Between 1,800 and 2,000 refugees had been resettled in Michigan over the past year and that about 200 of those were from Syria, The Detroit Free Press reported.
For his part, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley said he will not accept any refugees from Syria "[a]fter full consideration of this weekend's attacks of terror on innocent citizens in Paris."
"I will not stand complicit to a policy that places the citizens of Alabama in harm's way," he said.
On Saturday, Louisiana governor and Republican presidential candidate Bobby Jindal said he wrote a letter to President Obama asking why "Louisiana has been kept in the dark about those seeking refuge in the state."
Reports said some of the Syrian refugees who have already entered the U.S. are now in Louisiana.
"It is irresponsible and severely disconcerting to place individuals, who may have ties to ISIS, in a state without the state's knowledge or involvement. ... As governor of Louisiana, I demand information," Jindal said in his letter to the president.
On Sunday, the State Department told New Orleans' WWL-TV that 14 Syrians had been resettled in Louisiana.
Earlier, White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told "Fox News Sunday" that despite what happened in Paris, Obama still plans to welcome 10,000 Syrian refugees to the U.S. next year even as he expressed confidence in the U.S. screening process.
"We had very robust vetting procedures for those refugees," Rhodes said.
However, Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, disagreed with Rhodes' assessment.
"I disagree," he said. "I've been briefed by the FBI and Homeland Security. They tell me that this cannot be done."
"We don't have the databases," he said.
McCaul said the administration's plan to welcome Syrian refugees has "a lot of holes—gaping holes."
For instance, the U.S. does not have a comprehensive list of the estimated 5,000 or more foreign fighters around the world.
"Paris changes everything," McCaul said.
