A top Tennessee Republican lawmaker said he wants the state to activate the National Guard to round up Syrian refugees already settled in the state and ship them back to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“We need to activate the Tennessee National Guard and stop them from coming into the state by whatever means we can,” said House GOP Caucus Chairman Glen Casada, referencing refugees, The Tennessean reported Wednesday. “I’m not worried about what a bureaucrat in D.C. or an unelected judge thinks. … We need to gather [Syrian refugees] up and politely take them back to the ICE center and say, ‘They’re not coming to Tennessee, they’re yours.’”

Mr. Casada was asked whether Tennessee had the authority to detain refugees.

“Tennessee is a sovereign state. If the federal government is forsaking the obligation to protect our citizens, we need to act,” Mr. Casada told The Tennessean in a telephone interview.

The chairman showed no signs of walking back his comments later that afternoon. Asked whether his proposal would violate the U.S. Constitution, Mr. Casada said, “You have to ask yourself, which is greater — life or due process?” the Chattanooga Times Free Press‎ reported.

“I’m just sounding the alarm. Just think of me as Paul Revere,” he added, saying Democrats are “more concerned about being politically correct.”

The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition criticized Mr. Casada’s “dangerous rhetoric,” The Associated Press reported.

“These comments harken back to some of the darkest periods of our nation’s history, when we let fear and xenophobia override our principles and commitment to basic American freedoms,” said Stephanie Teatro, the advocacy group’s co-executive director.

Gov. Bill Haslam sent a letter to President Obama on Tuesday asking him to stop sending Syrian refugees to Tennessee. More than half of the nation’s governors have asked for federal officials to stop sending Syrian refugees to their states.

Thirty of the 1,601 refugees who settled in the state during fiscal 2015 came from Syria, according to the Tennessee Office for Refugees, the AP reported.

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