Rauner Condemns Trump Comments, Keeps Stance On Syrian Refugees
In this Dec. 3, 2015, file photo, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner speaks at an event in Chicago. Illinois legislative leaders said they made minor progress during a Tuesday, Dec. 8, meeting aimed at ending the state budget stalemate, including agreeing to take another shot at overhauling a public pension system that's billions in debt. M. Spencer Green/Associated Press
Illinois' Republican Governor, Bruce Rauner, is denouncing recent anti-Muslim statements from his party's frontrunner for president. But Rauner is sticking to his position on Syrian refugees, and now added Iraqis to those he doesn't want entering Illinois.
Rauner described Donald Trump's call for a ban on Muslims entering the U.S. as "an extreme action."
"I strongly, strongly disagree with candidate Trump," said Rauner. "What I have said is that we should have a cooperative communication to battle terrorism between the federal government and the states. What he's proposing is just fundamentally counter to American values."
The governor then took pains to distinguish Trump's plan from his policy to block Syrian refugees from moving to Illinois.
Critics say governors don't have the legal authority to block refugees, and it's discrimination to block out any one group. But this time, Rauner didn't just single out Syrians.
"I have asked the Obama administration to take a pause - it's not a long-term action but a pause - in our acceptance, our welcoming, of refugees from Syria and Iraq," he said.
In statements outlining his refugee policy, Rauner has never included Iraqis.