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Wolf Says Pennsylvania Will Accept Syrian Refugees

HARRISBURG, Pa. (KDKA/AP) - Gov. Tom Wolf says his administration will continue working with the federal government to resettle Syrian refugees in Pennsylvania following the Paris terrorist attacks.

"Pennsylvania (will) continue to build on its rich history of accepting immigrants and refugees from around the world but ... will work with the federal government to ensure it is taking every precaution necessary in screening those families coming into the country," Wolf said.

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto agrees with Wolf, saying Pittsburgh would also welcome more Syrian refugees, and that Pittsburgh must be "a place where they can escape the hell that they live in, to take care of themselves, and their families, and a time like this we can no longer close our hearts or our doors."

Wolf, a Democrat, said Monday that the federal government believes it can handle an additional 10,000 refugees that the White House said in September that it would accept from Syria.

Pennsylvania's Department of Human Services says 14 Syrian refugees have arrived in the state since Oct. 1.

Eight governors, all Republicans, say they're opposing efforts to relocate Syrian refugees in their states or they're demanding to know more about the federal government's security procedures to screen Syrian refugees.

Lavinia Limon of the U.S Committee for Refugees and Immigration says the Refugee Act of 1980 prevents governors from legally blocking refugees from settling in their communities.

"It's good to be sympathetic.  It's just not good to be stupid," U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, a Butler Republican, bluntly told KDKA political editor Jon Delano.

Kelly said taking in refugees makes no sense in the era of ISIS.

"The world is a completely different place.  It is on fire right now.  It is upside down," says Kelly.

"To be thinking now that the old model will work is very naive, and I think very irresponsible and reckless on our part."

And U.S. Rep. Keith Rothfus, a Sewickley Republican, called for a moratorium on refugees.

"When you have the FBI director testifying before the Homeland Security Committee that the federal government simply does not have the ability to conduct thorough background checks on all these refugees, I  think you have to take a look at that," said Rothfus.

Most people who commented in Market Square said this was a complicated question, balancing America's security needs with our desire to help people in need.

"Oh I think we have to be very careful," said one woman.

"There isn't really enough of a rigorous process," added one man.

"Who wants to be letting a bunch of terrorists into your country," questioned one man.

"I'm a big fan of letting in refugees," added another woman.

Wolf is ordering that Pennsylvania and U.S. flags on state facilities be lowered to half-staff for the victims of Friday night's terror attacks in Paris.

Wolf also said Monday that the front facade of the Capitol building is being lit up at night with the red, white and blue tricolor stripes of France's national flag. The flags will remain at half-staff until sunset Thursday.

Wolf also says the Pennsylvania State Police are taking extra security measures, including Sunday's Steelers and Eagles games.

From the first moments the Paris attacks were coming to light, local first responders were reacting. The chief of the Pittsburgh Police Department is calling on his officers to be more visible.

"We are not going to overreact, but we are going to continue to support civic life in Pittsburgh with a visible and peaceful presence," Chief Cameron McLay said.

And visible they were for a beefed-up presence at Heinz Field for Sunday's Steelers game.

"What you didn't see was about two times as many people who weren't in uniform who were there to protect, so it's always going to come down to public safety," Mayor Bill Peduto said.

The mayor says the city is planning for all the events over the next two months, and Chief McLay says they will be hyper vigilant for home-grown terrorists.

"So I'm concerned about that, we're all concerned about that," McLay said, "and tied to that is the tendency of copycat effects when there are violent events like this."

"I think we're too wide open, the United States is too wide open," Jean Scott of East Liberty said.

The Paris attacks hit so-called "soft targets," like theaters. KDKA-TV's John Shumway spoke to some Pittsburghers, and they think perhaps it's time to consider metal detectors and heightened security at places like malls and theaters.

"After what's happened, yeah, you never know," Bob Clear of Harmon said. "It's going to happen here sooner or later, maybe, so yeah, why not go ahead and do it?"

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald says they are constantly reevaluating the community's safety, and that process intensifies when there's a world event and changes might be needed.

"I think we want to make them rationally, as public policy makers at all levels, without allowing fear and those type of things to take over," Fitzgerald said.

At least 129 people were killed in the coordinated attacks across Paris on Friday.

One of the victims was a former intern with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.

François-Xavier Prévost, 29, was inside the Bataclan theater when gunmen opened fire.

"Prévost spent the summer of 2009 in Pittsburgh as part of an exchange program while studying for a degree in international commerce and negotiations in Dunkirk, France. He worked with Hounds director Jason Kutney on designing layouts for a soccer-specific stadium for the team. Prévost initiated contact with Seating Solutions, the company that helped to design what ended up becoming Highmark Stadium," the Riverhounds said in a statement. "We offer our deepest condolences and sympathies to Prévost's family and friends, and to everyone affected by the attacks."

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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