Gov. Nikki Haley facing fresh criticism of refugee resettlement support

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - Even though there are no Syrian refugees in South Carolina, Gov. Nikki Haley is facing criticism for her support of bringing refugees to the Palmetto State.

State Sen. Harvey Peeler sent a letter to the governor's office on Monday asking the Haley Administration to stop their "willingness to accept international refugees" because of fears in the Upstate that some of these refugees could be coming from war-torn Middle Eastern countries.

"With the bombings and shootings in Paris this weekend, we need to be even more vigilant about protecting the State of South Carolina and her citizens," Peeler wrote. "We do not want potential terrorists in our State."

The governor says she supports two Christian relief groups, such as Lutheran Services of the Carolinas, that bring refugees to the United States following extensive background checks by the federal government.

"The U.S. resettlement program is extremely well organized, detailed and rigorous program," Bedrija Jazic of the Lutheran group said. "This is a program that takes months, years to actually get approval to enter the United States through the refugee resettlement program. What's happening in Europe is a major refugee crisis where people come in waves and cross the borders.

Haley says two interpreters who worked with her husband in Afghanistan were brought over through the program.

"These are people who have protected our troops. These are people being persecuted for being Christian. These are people being hurt because of their political beliefs. These are people who we took in because they weren't safe where they were," Haley said.

Haley says she is speaking to the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI on Monday as part of a re-evaluation effort following the horrific attacks in Paris that killed 129 and injured hundreds of others.

RELATED: Continuing coverage of the terror attacks in Paris.

"It does make you take a step back a bit and say, 'Are we still okay?' And we do have to take precautions as a state to make sure that we're ensuring the people that come into the state will not harm the citizens of our state as we go forward," Haley said.

Still, Haley did not issue outright opposition or support for bringing Syrian refugees to the state.

RELATED: See other governors who do not support bringing refugees to the United States.

Meanwhile, other Republican governors, such as Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Gov. Robert Bentley of Alabama, and Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas have all come out against bringing refugees to their states.

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