US states refuse to accept Syrian refugees

Following the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris that claimed 129 lives, at least 26 US states have announced that they will not accept Syrian refugees, the media reported on Tuesday.

The states are Arizona, Alabama, Arkansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, New Hampshire and Wisconsin, EFE news reported.

The state governors made the announcement on Monday after a Syrian passport was found at the scene of one of the Paris attacks even though it is yet to be confirmed whether it belonged to the person next to whom it was found.

According to media reports, one of the suspects of the attacks, that have been claimed by the Islamic State, could have come to Paris after having crossed Serbia and Croatia as a refugee.

On September 10, Obama ordered his administration to prepare to accept at least 10,000 refugees fleeing the war in Syria in the next financial year that began on October 1, in response to the migrant crisis in Europe.

On Sunday, Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said the government is still planning to take in 10,000 Syrian refugees despite the massacre in Paris.

Republican presidential candidate Ohio Governor John Kasich said "there is no way that we can put any of our people at risk" by allowing Syrian refugees inside the country.

Other Republican presidential hopefuls, including Kentucky Senator Rand Paul and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who is currently leading the polls, also spoke out against welcoming Syrian refugees in the US.