HARTFORD — Governor Dannel Malloy said Monday that refugees will continue to be welcomed to Connecticut as long as they have gone through a rigorous security screening.
The spokesman said the administration has questions about the Department of Homeland Security’s screening measures for refugees entering the country following the deadly Paris terror attacks.
House Speaker Paul Ryan called for a pause Tuesday on allowing Syrian refugees to enter the U.S. while a more comprehensive ISIS strategy is developed.
Ryan said he wants to address the issue as soon as this week with a vote, and that a new task force is meeting daily on the matter.
At least 27 governors are now on record opposing the Obama administration’s plan to resettle 10,000 Syrians in the U.S. next year.
All but one of those governors are Republican, including Gov. Charlie Baker.
Opposition to the resettlement plans exploded after it was revealed at least one suspect in the Paris attacks slipped into Europe posing as a Syrian refugee.
Governors in seven states have said they will accept refugees.
Several others haven’t commented on the issue.
Only the federal government has legal authority to limit or control immigration, based on long-standing law and the U.S. constitution.
But individual states can limit or deny services to refugee populations.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees is warning against blaming refugees for terrorism after one of the Paris suicide bombers apparently came to Europe along with the thousands fleeing war and poverty.
Antonio Guterres on Tuesday urged united European action to create “more legal forms” of entry so refugees can undergo proper screening and security checks before being allowed in.
Guterres, who spoke at a refugee camp in Serbia, says “there was very probably one person that passed here that was part of the terrorist operation.”
But he says “there’s every day 5,000-7,000 people here, women and children fleeing violence … it would be totally unfair to blame refugees” for terrorist activities in the world.
Information from CNN and the Associated Press is included in this story.
