U.S. and allies debate response to ISIS, refugees

Congressional Republicans are joining a growing crowd of state governors who want to halt the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the United States. President Barack Obama set a goal earlier this year of taking in 10,000 Syrians who escaped the brutality of Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL), but last week’s attacks in Paris have made many fearful the militant group will plant terrorists among asylum-seekers.

At least 24 governors have asked resettlement agencies in their states not to accept any Syrian refugees. Most legal experts agree governors do not have the constitutional authority to bar the door to immigrants the federal government has approved, so many governors have written letters or issued executive orders asking those in authority not to put Syrian refugees in their state for the sake of security.

“Today I’m asking the federal government to suspend placements in Tennessee until states can become more of a partner in the vetting process,” Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam said.

Meanwhile, House Republicans say the chairmen of national security-focused committees are working on legislation dealing with Syrian refugees that the House could vote on as early as Thursday.

“Filling your country up with people who have a completely different belief system … and expecting they won’t rise up against their benefactor is foolish,” Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said in an interview. No refugees should be permitted into the United States from Syria “unless they be Christian refugees that are facing genocide,” he said, suggesting an upcoming spending bill should contain language specifying as much.

The issue creates a challenge to new House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who faces a Dec. 11 deadline to pass a package of spending bills or risk a partial government shutdown.

Four days after widespread terror attacks killed 129 people and injured almost 400 in Paris, the rest of the world is still grappling with how to best respond to the ISIS threat. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with French President François Hollande today. Kerry told reporters an internationally brokered ceasefire in the Syrian civil war could be just weeks away and would allow nations to focus more on eradicating ISIS and less on taking sides in the conflict between the Syrian government and opposition groups. The attacks in Paris are galvanizing international resolve against ISIS, Kerry said.

“Out of this event in Paris will come an even greater level of vigilance and cooperation in some places that may have been a little bit less concerned about things hitting them in certain parts of the world,” Kerry said.

Underscoring the ISIS threat, Russia announced its investigators have determined a bomb brought down the commercial airliner that crashed in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on Oct. 31. An ISIS affiliate already claimed responsibility for the tragedy. Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to hunt down those responsible and punish them. Hollande has separate meetings scheduled with Putin and Obama next week.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.