At least 19 governors are trying to block Syrian refugees from entering their states

The governors of Alabama, Arkansas, Michigan, Texas, Indiana, Louisiana, Illinois, Massachusetts, Ohio, North Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, New Hampshire, Arizona, Georgia, Maine, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Tennessee have all announced they'll move to ban Syrian refugees from entering their states, USA Today reports. The moves, all from Republican governors so far save for New Hampshire's Maggie Hassan, come after French authorities said they found a Syrian refugee passport of questionable authenticity near a suicide bomber who helped carry out the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday night.

In a letter to President Obama announcing his stance Monday, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas) argued that "any" Syrian refugee admitted to the U.S. "could be connected to terrorism." That's a claim Obama and other White House officials have refuted, asserting that vetting is in place to keep terrorists from infiltrating the flow of refugees.

Obama reiterated Monday the White House's plan to accept up to 10,000 Syrian refugees over the next year, and called on other nations to take in refugees as well.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Update 12:27 p.m.: This story was updated to include new announcements Monday from the Indiana and Louisiana governors.

Update 1:02 p.m.: This story was updated to include a new announcement from Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R), as reported by Politico.

Update 1:14 p.m.: This story was updated to include comments from Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R).

Update 2:07 p.m.: This story was updated to include Ohio Gov. John Kasich's stance.

Update 2:22 p.m.: This story was updated to include Mississippi, North Carolina, and Florida.

Update 5:18 p.m.: This story was updated to include New Hampshire, Arizona, Georgia, Maine, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Tennessee.