State Dept.: Refugees can go 'wherever they want to go'

The State Department said Tuesday that it believes state governors have little say over whether they will house refugees from Syria or anywhere else in the world, and that once they arrive, refugees can choose to live in any state they want.

"They can ultimately choose wherever they want to go," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters.

The question of refugee rights has come up as many governors have said they would refuse people from Syria, over fears that members of the Islamic State may try to slip in posing as refugees. One of the Paris attackers entered France that way.

The Obama administration has said it would make no changes to its plan to take up to 10,000 Syrian refugees this year. Toner said under current law, any refugee who land in the U.S. is "protected by the Constitution and federal law."

Refugees must apply to be permanent residents, but the are able to live where they want.

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