Gov. Sam Brownback says no to Guantanamo prisoners in Kansas

Not in our backyards. That’s the message Gov. Sam Brownback of Kansas and Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina sent to the Obama administration Tuesday about detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

The Republican governors sent a strongly worded letter to Defense Secretary Ash Carter saying they would fight attempts to place detainees in their states.

The letter said Brownback and Haley “will not be part of any illegal and ill-advised action by the administration, especially when that action relates to importing terrorists into our states.”

The governors said they received notice that Defense Department teams are surveying the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth and the U.S. Naval Consolidated Brig in South Carolina to assess the possibility of housing Guantanamo detainees.

In a statement, Brownback said the idea of bringing “terrorists to the United States is an insult to those who perished in the September 11 attacks and those who have served in America’s war on terror.”

This story was originally published August 25, 2015 at 1:54 PM with the headline "Gov. Sam Brownback says no to Guantanamo prisoners in Kansas."