Gov. Greg Abbott says Texas will not accept any more Syrians following the Paris terrorist attacks, though an immigration official counters that the governor lack legal authority to do so.
In a letter Monday to President Barack Obama, Abbott said he has directed state health officials not to participate in the resettlement of Syrians. Abbott also urged scrapping federal plans to accept more Syrian refugees anywhere in the country, saying the federal government can't perform "proper security checks."
Governors from Alabama and Michigan have also said they will not accept Syrian refugees after Obama pledged to accept about 10,000 of them in the next year.
Lavinia Limon, head of the U.S Committee for Refugees and Immigration, pointed to the Refugee Act of 1980, saying the governors cannot legally block refugees.
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