Virginia Mayor Compares Japanese-American Internment to Syrian Refugee Situation

As military police stand guard, people of Japanese descent wait at a transport center in San Francisco April 6, 1942 for relocation to an internment center at Santa Anita racetrack near Los Angeles. They were among thousands of people forced from their homes in the name of national security following the attack on Pearl Harbor. AP Photo

The mayor of Roanoke asked agencies to suspend relocating Syrian refugees to the area in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks and other threats.

Mayor David Bowers said in a statement Wednesday that relocation efforts by governmental and non-governmental agencies should be stopped “until these serious hostilities and atrocities end” or are brought under control.

President Barack Obama wants to bring 10,000 more Syrian refugees to the United States during the current budget year. The federal government controls immigration, leaving states and cities with no say in stopping it.

In his statement, Bowers cited Friday’s attacks in Paris that killed 129 people and wounded more than 350, and the Oct. 31 bombing of a Russian airliner over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 on board. Islamic State militants have claimed responsibility for both.

Roanake Government