Cuomo: States Have No Authority to Reject Syrian Refugees

In the wake of the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris last Friday, twenty four United States governors, expressing fears about terrorism, want to keep incoming Syrian refugees out of their states. (UPDATE: 30 governors)

The governors of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming said that there is a possibility that Syrian refugees seeking resettlement in the United States might include people with terrorist ties.

A number of the governors questioned whether militants were sneaking into Europe alongside refugees after a Syrian passport was found near a dead terrorist in the Paris attacks.

WGRZ reports that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo spoke out Tuesday against the other governors. Cuomo questioned their authority,  and accusing them of making a "pure political statement."

Speaking to students Tuesday at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, MA, Cuomo said states have "no authority to turn (refugees) down." Cuomo went on to say that the issue requires a "balance" of protecting Americans without losing "our soul as America in the process."

According to data from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Population, just three Syrian refugees arrived in the state of New York from 2011 to 2014. So far in 2015, there have been 48.

Some Republicans in New York have called on Cuomo to take a stand against accepting the refugees, including several state lawmakers and Conservative Party chairman Mike Long.