Bentley says he will refuse to accept Syrian refugees

Gov. Robert Bentley Sunday evening abruptly announced the state of Alabama would not accept refugees from the Syrian civil war, following the terror attacks in Paris Friday.

The announcement from the governor’s office acknowledged that there were no plans to settle refugees in the state, or credible terror threats directed at Alabama. But the statement from Bentley said he would “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 those who will never allow freedom to fade at the hands of the terrorists,” Bentley said.

The civil war in Syria, which has raged since 2011, has killed 250,000 people and, according to the United Nations, sent more than 4 million refugees into other countries to flee the violence in what has been called the largest humanitarian crisis since World War II.

The vast majority of the refugees have gone to Europe or neighboring countries. The United States accepted 1,854 Syrian refugees through September; more than ten times as many have been admitted from Myanmar. The Obama administration has indicated that it plans to increase that number to 100,000 by 2017, which human rights advocates call inadequate to address the depths of the crisis. The U.S. accepted at least 130,000 South Vietnamese refugees in the months following the fall of Saigon in 1975.

At least 129 people were killed and over 400 injured in a series of attacks that took place around Paris Friday evening. Investigators are still learning the identity of the attackers, though several have been identified as French citizens. According to The New York Times, a passport for an individual from Syria was found near an attacker’s body, though it was not clear if the passport was authentic Sunday evening.

According to the U.S. Census, 3.5 percent of Alabama’s population in 2014 was born in a foreign country. The national average was 12.9 percent.

Bentley in 2011 signed a sweeping bill known as HB 56 that attempted to criminalize undocumented immigrants living in the state. Most elements of the law have been struck down by the federal courts.

Several other Republican governors Sunday questioned plans to increase the number of refugees resettling in Alabama, including Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. Bentley's statement said neighboring states had accepted Syrian refugees; Louisiana has accepted 14; Syrian refugees have also been settled in Atlanta, Nashville, Memphis.

What governors are saying about Syrian refugees

The Office of Refugee Settlement in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said 107 refugees were settled in Alabama in fiscal year 2014. 36 came from Iraq; 22 came from Somalia. In all, 381 refugees were settled in Alabama between 2011 and 2014. One Syrian refugee was settled in Alabama in FY 2012. The state's total population is 4.8 million.

Bentley's statement said the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency "is working diligently with the FBI, DHS and federal intelligence partners to monitor any possible threats."