Gov. Doesn't Want Syrian Refugees Relocated To State
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TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/AP) - Governor Rick Scott has joined a chorus of other state governors who have asked the federal government to stop accepting refugees from Syria.
In a letter to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and members of the Florida Congressional delegation, Scott says several organizations have been in touch with the state's Department of Children and Families about them relocating more than 400 possible Syrian refugees since they receive federal funding to do so.
"Following the terrorist attacks by ISIS in Paris that killed over 120 people and wounded more than 350, and the news that at least one of the terror attack suspects gained access to France by posing as a Syrian refugee, our state agency will not support the requests we have received," wrote Scott.
In the letter, the governor admits that the state can stop the federal government from relocating the Syrian refugees to Florida. So he's ordered state agencies to reject any calls requests to help the refugees and called on Congress cut off funds for relocation.
",,,We are asking the United States Congress to take immediate and aggressive action to prevent President Obama and his administration from using any federal tax dollars to fund the relocation of up to 425 Syrian refugees (the total possible number of refugees pending for state relocation support at this time) to Florida, or anywhere in the United States, without an extensive evaluation of the risk these individuals may pose to our national security."
Millions of Syrians have fled to neighboring Middle Eastern countries and Europe, and President Barack Obama's administration has pledged to accept about 10,000 Syrian refugees in the next 12 months. The U.S. State Department said the refugees would be spread across the country. Republican presidential candidates have criticized the plan as have governors from nearly a dozen states including Alabama, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
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