Gov. Christie says New Jersey will not accept Syrian refugees
FILE - A Sunday, June 14, 2015 file photo of a Syrian refugee carrying a baby over the broken border fence into Turkey (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)
Gov. Chris Christie says the state of New Jersey will no longer accept Syrian refugees in the wake of last week’s Paris attacks.
The Republican presidential contender says in a letter to President Barack Obama Tuesday that he doesn’t believe that background checks are stringent enough to ensure safety.
He says he’s directing the New Jersey Department of Human Services not to participate in resettling refugees from the country.
New Jersey has accepted 75 Syrian refugees so far this year, according to data from the Refugee Processing Center.
Governors across the U.S. have threatened to stop accepting Syrian refugees because of the attacks.
Legal experts say governors don’t have any authority to block resettlements under the Refugee Act of 1980.
20151117 Ltr to President Obama Re Syrian Refugees
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