Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy was honored on Sunday by the family of John F. Kennedy for embracing Syrian refugees at a time when other U.S. leaders sought to turn them away.

The Democratic governor was presented the Profile In Courage award at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, alongside the Syrian family he personally welcomed to his state.

Malloy invited the refugee family to settle in Connecticut a week after the Nov.r 13 attack by Islamic militants that killed 130 people in Paris. At least one of the attackers is believed to have held a Syrian passport, although the authenticity of the document has been questioned.