Several States in U.S. Refuse to Accept Middle East Refugees Following Paris Terror Attack

Several states in the U.S. have announced they are halting their acceptance of refugees from the Middle East following the recent extremist-inspired terror attacks carried out in Paris, France.

The states of Michigan, Alabama, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Indiana, Illinois, Massachusetts, Ohio, Arizona, North Carolina, Florida, Wisconsin, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Georgia, Maine, Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina and Iowa announced this week that they are planning to halt the acceptance of Syrian refugees in light of the recent terror attacks, for which the Islamic State terror group claimed responsibility.

Although the states have said they wish to not accept more refugees, State Department spokesman Mark Toner told ABC News that once refugees enter the United States, they are legally allowed to move from state to state, and therefore it may not be possible to contain them in certain parts of the country.

"The acts of terror committed over the weekend are a tragic reminder to the world that evil exists and takes the form of terrorists who seek to destroy the basic freedoms we will always fight to preserve," Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley said in a statement, adding "I will not place Alabamians at even the slightest, possible risk of an attack on our people."

President Barack Obama said in a statement on Monday that refugees traveling to the U.S. to escape Syria should not be equated to Islamic State terrorists.

"The people who are fleeing Syria are the most harmed by terrorism," Obama said this week at a G20 meeting. "It is very important [...] that we do not close our hearts to these victims of such violence and somehow start equating the issue of refugees with the issue of terrorism."