Syrian Family Diverted After Pence Bars Refugees From State

At least two Syrian families are being redirected to other states after Governor Mike Pence’s decision to temporarily bar them from entering Indiana.

According to letters the director of Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration sent to Exodus Refugee Immigration and Catholic Charities Indianapolis, a Syrian couple and their 5-year-old were scheduled to arrive in Indiana on Thursday. That family’s now in Connecticut.

The other family was supposed to come to Indiana next month.

The letters ask the agencies to redirect the families to other states that are accepting Syrian refugees.

Pence is one of more than two dozen governors who’s suspended resettlement programs for Syrian refugees in the wake of terrorist attacks in Paris. 

Pence participated in a White House call about the federal screening process of refugees, but a spokesperson says he hasn’t changed his stance on the issue, citing testimony from the director of the FBI that points to gaps in the screening process.