Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy was one of the first U.S. governors to say the state will continue welcoming Syrian refugees. Malloy said today that Connecticut will help resettle refugees as part of President Barack Obama’s plan to accept 10,000 refugees from Syria next year.
“You know we’re talking about a very limited number of people," he said. "Some of these folks have been subject to rape, mutilation…Some of these folks have been our allies in the fight over there and we should treat our allies and our friends, and those who have been mistreated by others, with great respect, and we always have in Connecticut.”
In response to the Paris terror attacks, more than half of U.S. governors said they would not welcome more refugees from Syria because of potential security threats.
Malloy said that America has always welcomed the downtrodden and the Paris attacks shouldn’t change that.
“This kind of jumping on the bandwagon to make a statement is really saying, ‘OK terrorists, you won. We’re going to change. We’re not going to be the America that we’ve always been,'” he said.
Governors in states refusing refugees say they want a review of the federal refugee screening process before they’ll let anybody from Syria into their states. Malloy said he would support a review, but he will still let refugees in because the current screening process is extensive and takes up to several years.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told Harvard University Students today that the state will continue to welcome Syrian Refugees. Cuomo said refusing refugees would be like letting terrorists win by "conceding defeat of the American dream."