State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

Despite Governors' Protests, Syrian Refugees Settle Across the U.S.

Stateline: PASSAIC, N.J. — As he sat in a food pantry here, a 32-year-old Syrian refugee’s eyes widened when he heard that Republican Gov. Chris Christie had declared last year that he didn’t want any people fleeing the war-torn country to come to New Jersey.

“Does he want to send me back?” said the man, a married father of four who didn’t give his name because he doesn’t want his family in Syria to worry about him.

The man and his family fled to a refugee camp in Jordan after their home in Syria was leveled by a missile strike. About a month ago, they were placed in nearby Paterson, some of the more than 10,000 Syrian refugees who have been settled in the United States this year.

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