The world was shocked by the recent Islamic State attacks in Paris, Beirut and Iraq that left hundreds dead and hundreds more injured. After the attacks, at least 31 U.S. governors said they would not allow Syrian refugees to settle in their states.

Earlier this year, President Barack Obama announced the U.S. would accept at least 10,000 Syrian refugees during the 2015 fiscal year.

The state governors said they are worried about extremists infiltrating the U.S., disguising themselves as refugees.

The decision of whether or not the U.S. accepts refugees will ultimately fall to the federal government.

We understand the fear of letting in refugees from a war-torn nation where terrorists kill people on a daily basis.

We believe, however, that it is more important to accept the slight risks associated with accepting this refugees than banning them from our nation.

The base of the Statue of Liberty reads, “Give me your tired, your poor / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free / The wretched refuse of your teeming shore / Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me / I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

The nation has accepted immigrants for more than a century with the promise of land and opportunity. We have given them a sanctuary of safety to escape the dangers of their native lands.

The Syrian refugees are examples of each of these descriptions on the base of the statue: They are tired, poor, yearning to breathe free. They are homeless and tempest-tossed. They need somewhere to go.

The U.S. should do the moral thing and let in their fellow humans who have nowhere else to go, not close its borders to people in need.

The above editorial is a consensus opinion of The Kent Stater editorial board, whose names are listed above.