POLL: Should California Welcome Syrian Refugees?

By BEA KARNES (Patch Staff)

A political firestorm is raging in this country over the acceptance of Syrian refugees in the U.S. after one of the terrorists who carried out last Friday’s attacks in Paris was found to carry a Syrian passport. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the passport was fake.

More than half of the nation’s governors have announced that Syrian refugees are not welcome in their states. California Gov. Jerry Brown is the most vocal state leader to publicly announce that Syrian refugees are still welcome here, including the flood of people fleeing ISIS in their nation. He said Monday that accepting the refugees preserves “America’s traditional role as a place of asylum.”

• Related: Gov. Brown Activates State’s Threat System in Response to Paris Attacks

In fact, California has already received 218 Syrian refugees this year, according to the Refugee Processing Center.

But the governor also promised that all refugees will be fully screened. He told the Sacramento Bee, “You can be sure that we will do everything in our power to protect the people of our state.”

• Also See: GOP Candidate Carson Raising Funds in San Diego

Social media lit up over the issue. @Rockprincess818 wrote, “#California can’t even vet illegals from our southern border, how will @JerryBrownGov vet Syrian refugees? #DeathByDemocrat”

But @ACLU_SoCal offered a counter opinion, “We urge @JerryBrownGov to show courageous leadership & to uphold our nation’s laws and values by welcoming Syrian #refugees fleeing terror.”

And how do you feel? Make your voice heard by voting in our poll, and commenting below this article.

--Image via State of California