24 states move to block refugees:

Legal experts say governors may not have much say

See the list of states and read more about the efforts in Nation & World.

At least 23 governors,

WASHINGTON expressing fears about terrorism, are taking action — through executive order, a request to federal officials or some other means — to prevent Syrian refugees from settling in their states.

Their stand in the name of public safety began Sunday and escalated quickly Monday, igniting a debate over whether states even have the power to refuse people based on their nationality.

The governors — in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin — were reacting to Friday’s attacks in Paris and the possibility that Syrian refugees seeking resettlement in the USA might include people with terrorist ties.

Twenty-two of the 23 governors are Republican. The lone Democrat is Gov. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire.

“There may be those who will try to take advantage of the generosity of our country and the ability to move freely within our borders through this federal resettlement program, and we must ensure we are doing all we can to safeguard the security of Americans,” GOP Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin said.

In Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal signed an executive order instructing agencies to “take all available steps” to stop relocation of Syrian refugees in his state.

Legal scholars say governors probably have little power to stop refugees from entering their states. “The one thing I feel very comfortable saying is there is absolutely no constitutional power for a state to exclude anyone from its territories,” said Stephen Legomsky, a Washington University of St. Louis law professor and former chief counsel of U.S. Citizen-

“There may be those who will try to take advantage of the generosity of our country.”

Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin