AUSTIN, Texas — Texas will stop helping the US government provide aid and services to refugees, state officials said Wednesday, severing ties at a time when President Obama has announced intentions to greatly increase the number of resettlements in 2017.

Kansas and New Jersey also have pulled out of the federally funded refugee resettlement program due to what Republicans have called security concerns. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said his state will follow suit unless demands for more rigorous refugee vetting are ‘‘unconditionally’’ met by Sept. 30.

Federal officials say refugees are exhaustively screened, and they have won several court battles over states’ efforts to block the arrival of Syrian refugees after November’s deadly attacks in Paris.

But GOP leaders, including vice presidential candidate and Indiana Governor Mike Pence, have said a Syrian passport, now believed to be fake, was found near one of the suicide bombers.

‘‘Empathy must be balanced with security,’’ Abbott said Wednesday in a prepared statement.

The US Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement that services for refugees would continue in Texas. In other states, the Obama administration works directly with local resettlement agencies instead of passing federal dollars for refugee services and benefits through state agencies.

One of the largest resettlement agencies in the United States, the International Rescue Committee, released a statement from its Dallas director saying that Texas’s decision ‘‘cannot obstruct our moral obligation to protect and welcome the world’s most vulnerable.’’

The White House has said the United States would resettle 110,000, a 30 percent increase over the 85,000 allowed this year.

Associated Press