TALLAHASSEE – Gov. Rick Scott on Monday opposed efforts to resettle Syrian refugees in Florida, and he called on Congress to ensure they are denied entry to the Sunshine State.

Scott joined governors in nearly two dozen states taking similar stands against resettling Syrians fleeing a civil war in their country in the wake of the terrorist attacks
in Paris on Friday.

One of the perpetrators reportedly entered into France posing as a refugee.

In a letter to U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan and U.S. Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, Scott said he’s ordering Department of Children and Families, the state agency

overseeing refugee services in Florida, not to cooperate with a federal request to place 425 Syrian refugees in the state.

But fearing refugees could still be placed in Florida since the federal government controls immigration policy, Scott also urged Congress to pass legislation or to withhold

funds for Syrian refugee resettlement.

President Obama has called for 10,000 Syrian immigrants to be allowed into the U.S. in light of the migration crisis in Europe.

War in Syria has led to the displacement of milions, swelling refugee camps in countries bordering Syria and leading to a wave of migrants in Europe.

“Please take any action available through the powers of the United States Congress to prevent federal allocations toward the relocation of Syrian refugees without extensive examination into how

this would affect our homeland security,” the letter reads in part.

Since the Paris attacks, the issue of Syrian migration has taken a partisan tack. Several other Republican governors, including in states such as Texas and Massachusetts, have taken stances similar to Scott’s.

Some Democratic governors in states such as Pennsylvania and Connecticut have said they would welcome Syrian refugees.

One top Florida Democrat criticized Scott’s move as a knee-jerk reaction to the Paris attacks.

“It’s an example of a governor who has the build-the-wall mentality. And when he’s not opening up a WaWa, he's dashing the huddled masses of the world,” said Florida House Democratic

Leader Mark Pafford of West Palm Beach.

“It’s really rather sick what he’s done considering many of these people who may need the United States are children.”

Scott’s administration, however, is skeptical the federal government can thoroughly screen each Syrian applicant.

“We must use whatever power we have to refuse to accept these so-called refugees in our state,” said Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, who is running for U.S. Senate in 2016.

There already are Syrian refugees in Florida. From Oct. 1, 2014, to Sept. 30, a total of 104 Syrian refugees received assistance from refugee services in Florida, according to DCF numbers.

Services in Central Florida accounted for 10 of those refugees, six in Osceola County and four in Orange County.

And the total number of Syrian refugees nationwide has surged since the start of the civil war in the Middle Eastern country in March 2011.

According to statistics from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services department, the number of applicants from Syria for refugee status ballooned from 36 the year before the war

began to 1,582 in 2014.

Overall, the U.S. has received more than 4,000 refugee applications from Syrians since 2011 and approved 1,567

.Rick Scott joins ranks of governors opposing new Syrian refugees in state - Orlando Sentinel