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Alabama Refuses Syrian Refugees: Governor Robert Bentley Tells Obama Not A Single Possible ISIS Fighter Will Be Allowed To Enter The State

By Tara Dodrill
Published on: 01:29 PST, Nov 16, 2015

Alabama will not allow any Syrian refugees into the state, according to Governor Robert Bentley. The formal refusal to take a single one of the 10,000 refugees President Barack Obama has agreed to let into the United States came on Sunday evening. Governor Bentley cited the Paris attacks, where at least 129 people were killed, as the primary reason for his decision to defy any moves by the federal government to permit potential ISIS terrorists into Alabama.

“After full consideration of this weekend’s attacks of terror on innocent citizens in Paris, I will oppose any attempt to relocate Syrian refugees to Alabama through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. As your Governor, I will not stand complicit to a policy that places the citizens of Alabama in harm’s way,” Governor Bentley said in the statement.

Like many places around the nation and throughout the globe, security has been stepped up at major events and venues in Alabama. The Paris attacks and Syrian refugees were a hot topic at the Democratic debate on Saturday evening. Hillary Clinton stated that she wants 65,000 Syrian refugees to be allowed to come onto American soil, even after the terrorism in Paris may have been linked to at least one ISIS fighter posing as a refugee to gain entry to France.

President Obama stated that the ISIS threat had been contained just a few hours before the horrific terror attacks in Paris. In September, the president revealed a plan to allow at least 10,000 Syrian refugees to be relocated to the United States during the next fiscal year, MSN reports. About 2,000 such refugees have already arrived on American soil. None of the Syrian immigrants have been relocated to Alabama, according to the statement by Governor Robert Bentley.

“The acts of terror committed over the weekend are a tragic reminder to the world that evil exists and takes the form of terrorists who seek to destroy the basic freedoms we will always fight to preserve. I will not place Alabamians at even the slightest, possible risk of an attack on our people. Please continue to join me in praying for those who have suffered loss and for those who will never allow freedom to fade at the hands of terrorists,” Governor Bentley said in the statement released to alert the federal government that Alabama will not be accepting the “resettling” of any Syrian refugees in the state.

At least one of the eight ISIS terrorists involved with the Paris attacks is believed to have crossed into the open borders of France while claiming to be a Syrian refugee. The still-at-large terror suspect is thought to have arrived in Europe by traveling through Greece.

French President Francois Hollande has promised to embark on a “merciless” response to the ISIS terror attack in Paris. In the first of what will likely be many retaliatory strikes, France conducted airstrikes on the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa on Sunday. The targets of the attack reportedly include an ammunition storage base, an ISIS recruitment center, and a training camp for Sunni militants.

Do you think the Obama administration and the federal government should allow any Syrian refugees to resettle in the United States? Do you agree with the refusal to accept such refugees issued by Alabama Governor Robert Bentley?

[Image via AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File]

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