From Trail Blazers:
The legal jousting continues over Texas’ effort to bar the settlement of Syrian refugees in the state.
Attorneys for the federal government and an aid agency this week filed briefs reiterating their opposition to Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit over the matter. The aid group, the International Rescue Committee, asked that the suit against them be dismissed.
The filings cover little new ground in the dispute, which began after Gov. Greg Abbott in November said Syrian refugees would not be allowed in Texas. He and others cited concerns, after the Paris attacks, that terrorists might infiltrate the refugee program.
But U.S. Justice Department attorneys this week defended the refugee vetting process and rejected the state’s claims. They added that an injunction would “frustrate” the government’s efforts to “address the worst refugee crisis seen in a generation.”
Such a result would be “contrary to both the nation’s proud tradition of welcoming the world’s most vulnerable people to our shores, and the clear intent of the Refugee Act,” the attorneys wrote.
[…]
U.S. District Judge David Godbey ultimately denied the emergency action, saying the evidence offered by the state was “largely speculative hearsay.” But he also asked for additional information before ruling on the state’s underlying request for an injunction.
See here for the background. The filings in question can be seen at the link. We may get the hearing for this in the next week or two, but as yet no date has been set. I’m sure there will be more paperwork to come before then.
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