COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – Missouri’s Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon says screening refugees is the federal government’s job and is calling for safeguards following deadly terror attacks in Paris.

Nixon in a Monday statement didn’t say he’d block Syrian refugees from settling in Missouri.
Republican gubernatorial candidates suburban St. Louis businessman John Brunner, former Navy SEAL officer Eric Greitens, former state House speaker and U.S. attorney Catherine Hanaway and Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder want Nixon to do so. They cited safety concerns.

Democratic Attorney General Chris Koster, who has said he’ll run for governor, and 18 Republican state senators also say Missouri should pause relocations.
According to a federal database 29 Syrian refugees settled in Missouri so far this year.

Immigration experts say under the Refugee Act of 1980 governors cannot legally block refugees.