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Hickenlooper Believes Relocating Syrian Refugees, Maintaining Safety Can Be Achieved

By Shaun Boyd

DENVER (CBS4)- Gov. John Hickenlooper says Colorado can maintain safety while allowing Syrian refugees to come to the state.

"Our first priority remains the safety of our residents. We will work with the federal government and Homeland Security to ensure the national verification processes for refugees are as stringent as possible. We can protect our security and provide a place where the world's most vulnerable can rebuild their lives," said Hickenlooper.

But, more than 20 governors are threatening to close their borders to the refugees after authorities in Paris confirmed that one of the suspects in the attacks there entered Europe as a refugee.

President Barack Obama is defending his plan to allow 10,000 Syrians to enter the U.S.

"Remember many refugees are victims of terrorism themselves and slamming the door in their faces is a betrayal of our values," Obama said in a news conference wrapping up a two-day G20 summit of the world leaders in Turkey.

The president also lashed out at some republicans, including GOP presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz, who called for barring Muslim refugees while admitting Christians.

"That's shameful," he said. "That's not American. It's not who we are."

Syrian refugees
Syrian refugees sit in the back of a Jordanian army truck as they leave the al-Roqban makeshift camp, on the border with Syria, on September 10, 2015. (credit: KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP/Getty Images)

Republican U.S. Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"We had a committee hearing several weeks ago where we heard from some of the leading human rights organizations around the globe and they said even if number refugees taken in by the United States and Europe were to increase it would barely scratch the surface of the actual number of people who are displaced in Syria. What needs to happen is an end to the conflict in Syria, a humanitarian zone, a safe zone of some kind, a no-fly zone. That would help prevent this refugee flow. Until something like that occurs, we're still going to be faced with this. But the bottom line is this: we can't be allowing people into the United States that we don't know whether or not they're going to do harm to this country," said Gardner.

Colorado's democratic U.S. Senator Michael Bennet also called for a more rigorous vetting process and more help.

"This crisis threatens stability in the region", Bennet said, "As we are being asked to shoulder some of this burden, regional partners like Saudi Arabia need to step up and do more."

The governor's office says Colorado has taken in about 50,000 refugees in last 35 years - none from Syria. If some of the Syrian refugees in this crisis do come here, the office says it won't be for another year and a half at least.

Shaun Boyd is CBS4's political specialist. She's a veteran reporter with more than 25 years of experience. Follow her on Twitter @cbs4shaun.

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