Why should NC halt Syrian influx?

by Jim Tynen, Capitol Connection, November 16, 2015.

Gov. Pat McCrory has asked the federal government to stop sending Syrians to resettle in North Carolina, until NC officials are assured there are no terrorists mingled with innocent refugees.

Speaking at a press conference Monday, McCrory said he was requesting that President Obama take “take a deep breath and ask, ‘Are all of the people coming from Syria safe?’ We cannot know that they are. Therefore, our top priority must be to protect the people of North Carolina.”

Some of the terrorists in the deadly Paris killings may have been among the crowds of refugees reaching Europe in recent months. Fears of such attacks have already prompted a dozen other governors across the U.S. to seek to stop the flow of refugees to their states.

Gov. McCrory repeatedly expressed sympathy for those fleeing violence in the Mideast. “I empathize with these people who are dealing with unimaginable atrocities from ISIS,” he said. “But what worries me is some of these people might be ISIS.”

He expressed concern that federal authorities have failed to make it clear that they vet refugees sufficiently to screen out risks. “We would trust [federal officials] more if they would tell us more about what they’re doing,” he said. “I want to make sure we’re not opening ourselves up to a potential terrorist situation.”

He said there are 59 Syrian refugees in the state currently.

As of Monday afternoon, at least a dozen other governors had taken steps to address the influx of refugees into their states. Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, a Republican presidential hopeful, signed an Executive Order ordering state agencies to take all available steps to stop the relocation of Syrian refugees to his state.

In a move closer to McCrory’s, another White House aspirant, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, wrote the president asking him to stop sending refugees to that state.

State House Majority Leader Mike Hager, a Republican from Rutherford, said, “I have expressed concerns to Gov. McCrory that we must refuse relocation of any refugees here to ensure the safety of all North Carolinians. With the terrorist attacks in Paris over the weekend, we cannot allow such attacks to happen here.”

The head of the Civitas Institute applauded McCrory’s stand.

“The brutal murder of people in Paris reminds us that, sadly, terrorists can hide among the innocent,” Civitas President Francis De Luca said. “It is vital to halt the influx of Syrians and others from the Middle East until we can ensure none are threats to the people of North Carolina.”

http://nccapitolconnection.com/2015/11/16/why-should-nc-halt-syrian-influx/