State Rep. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, is calling for a special legislative session in an effort to close Missouri's borders to Syrian refugees.
His request joins a chorus of complaints that Gov. Jay Nixon has not yet joined the list of 30 governors refusing to allow Syrian refugees into their states. Their concerns have arisen in the wake of Friday's terrorist attacks in Paris. One of the attackers entered Europe through Greece by posing as a Syrian refugee, prompting questions among state officials across the United States as to whether the country's refugee screening process is thorough enough.
A three-fourths vote in both the House and Senate would be needed in order to call the legislative session without the support of the governor. That would require 123 representatives in the House and 26 in the Senate, outpacing the Republican supermajority of 116 and 24 in each body.
Nixon released a statement on Monday regarding refugee resettlement, but has not announced whether he will block refugees from entering the state.
"The screening process for refugees is the responsibility of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and I call on our federal partners to implement the strongest possible safeguards to protect our state and nation," Nixon wrote.
Speaker of the House Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, has also called for Nixon to come forward with a plan to address safety concerns.
"During these difficult times, the state needs you to serve as a strong leader in working with the federal government to ensure a thorough screening process is in place before any refugees are allowed to relocate to this country, and specifically to our state," Richardson wrote in a letter to the governor on Tuesday. Signing the letter in agreement were 105 representatives-including Jefferson City area Reps. Caleb Jones and Mike Bernskoetter.
State legislators are not the only ones requesting Nixon take a stance. Six GOP congressional representatives, three Republican candidates for governor and Democratic Attorney General Chris Koster have also voiced security concerns. Catherine Hanaway, a former U.S. attorney and a gubernatorial candidate, has started a petition requesting Nixon block the refugees from resettling in Missouri.
Others have come out in support of Nixon's deferral to the federal government. Rep. Stacey Newman, D-St. Louis, wrote to Nixon about her family's roots as refugees fleeing Nazi Germany in the late 1930s. She argued Syrian refugees should be given the same opportunity to safety within America's borders as refugees of previous generations.
"To assume that refugees do not undergo thoroughly vetted national security screenings is wrong and hints at prejudice, contradictory of the values on which our country originally held dear," Newman wrote.
Local immigration and refugee advocacy groups agreed, assuring the federal screening process is sound and requesting that legislators and candidates shy away from using the issue for political gain.
"Rather than politicizing those tragedies, elected leaders in Missouri and around the nation should be following the lead of residents and community organizations and standing up for refugee families," the Missouri Immigrant and Refugee Advocates wrote in a statement released on Wednesday.
"It is likely, and appropriate, that the Syrian resettlement process, including its already complex security procedures, is being reviewed by federal authorities," the International Institute of St. Louis said in a statement. "So, the American public can rest assured that appropriate protections will be in place."