Bigoted U.S. Governors Display Ignorance

It did not take long for a group of opportunistic U.S. Governors to respond to the horrors of the Paris bombings.

They did so with racist, religiously bigoted responses against Muslims.

Their responses were degrading to their collective state offices, and hateful to a major world religion. They also display a collective naked ignorance of the fact that governors have absolutely nothing to do with U.S. immigration policy.

Time reports the reactions of these governors:

"In the wake of the attacks on Paris, a slew of American governors have expressed opposition to President Obama's plan to allow 10,000 Syrian refugees to come to the U.S. Some states (like Alabama and Texas) say they would not allow these immigrants into their states; some (like Massachusetts and Nevada) have requested more information from the federal government before they make a decision; and others (like Idaho and North Carolina) land in the middle, saying they oppose the idea but stopping short of refusing to receive refugees. On the other end of the spectrum, a handful of governors have pledged to accept Syrian migrants."

Think Progress delivers the ignorance memo to the governors:

"There is no lawful means that permits a state government to dictate immigration policy to the president in this way. As the Supreme Court explained in Hines v. Davidowitz, 'the supremacy of the national power in the general field of foreign affairs, including power over immigration, naturalization and deportation, is made clear by the Constitution.' States do not get to overrule the federal government on matters such as this one."

Did the governors miss examining Hines v. Davidowitz in their collective rush to join the anti-Muslim lynch mobs?

Faced with a crucial test of leadership, many of the nation's governors, failed. Take note of their names and determine if this is leadership, or flashbacks to the years of Ku Klux Klan.

Bobby Jindal
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Among the names is Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who has just withdrawn as a Republican presidential candidate. (Pictured)

Governor Jindal issued an executive order on Monday authorizing his government "to utilize all lawful means" to block Syrian refugees from resettling in the state. He also instructed and authorized state police "to utilize all lawful means to monitor and avert threats within the State of Louisiana" if notified of Syrian refugees already living in the state.

Responses from leaders of states in "the land of the free and the home of the brave" were echoed in this summary from Huffington Post:

Huffington Post reports...

"More than half of the nation's governors have called on the U.S. to stop admitting Syrian refugees, most of them promising to do everything in their power to prevent them from entering their states.