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Connecticut Gov. Criticizes Pence For Diverting Syrian Refugees

Dan Malloy
/
State of Connecticut

Connecticut's governor has taken a swipe at Indiana Governor Mike Pence and Pence’s plan to divert Syrian refugees away from Indiana.

Dan Malloy (D-CT) spoke about a family of three refugees from Syria who were sent to his state rather than their initial destination of the Indianapolis area. The diversion came on the heels of last Friday’s Paris attacks and just days before they were to arrive in Indiana.

Like President Obama and a majority of Democrats, Malloy says calls by Pence and other conservatives for a pause on Syrian immigration spread fear at a time when elected officials need to calm the public.

Malloy says there is no need to pause immigration from Syria.

“We control this refugee process to a higher extent than any other country in the nation,” Malloy says. “And you know why we do it? Because it’s the right thing to do.”

Malloy says no one has suggested a ban on immigrants from France or Belgium, even though many of the Paris attackers appear to have come from those two countries.

Malloy says elected leaders in the U.S. should choose their words carefully.

“Quite frankly, it has been bad, in my opinion, by people who should be leading the fight against hysteria, not leading into it,” Malloy says.

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