Hickenlooper clarifies Syria position, responds to critics

A petition on Change.org began Monday calling for Gov. John Hickenlooper to reconsider his position on accepting Syrian refugees into Colorado.

More than 35,000 people signed the petition in less than two days.

Hickenlooper is among a small group of governors who say they’ll accept refugees into their states after a strict and stringent vetting process. After the terror attacks in Paris last week, a majority of state governors say they want to stop refugees from coming into the United States citing national security reasons.

“It’s against the law,” Hickenlooper said. “I took an oath to obey the law. Governors do not have the constitutional authority to prevent anyone from coming into their states or residing in their states. We don’t have that power.”

Hickenlooper calls the refugees fleeing Syria our allies. “The vast majority of these refugees are women and children and the elderly,” he said. “They have been orphaned or widowed because their father, their brother believed in our values.”

Jonathan Lockwood with “Advancing Colorado” thinks Hickenlooper is playing politics.

“For our governor to rush out while everyone else is pumping the breaks, for him to put pedal to the metal and then get hit with a huge backlash, he’s as frustrated with people’s concern on this issue as we are with his decision to do it,” Lockwood said.

Hickenlooper tells KRDO NewsChannel 13 this is a complex issue with no easy solution. The governor maintains his first priority is and always has been to protect the safety of all Coloradans.