Federal judge blocks Trump order allowing local governments to refuse refugees
The decision comes less than a week after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said his state would not accept new refugees, making it the first in the nation to do so.
Jan. 15, 2020,
By Daniella Silva and Laura Strickler
A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked a Trump administration order that allowed state and local governments to refuse the resettling of refugees, finding the policy likely “unlawful.”
U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte, of Maryland, ordered the preliminary injunction on the Trump administration’s executive order, which requires state and local governments to affirmatively consent to the receiving of refugees.
The decision comes less than a week after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said his state would not accept new refugees, making it the first in the nation to do so.
Messitte wrote in a 31-page decision that if the order were implemented, “many refugees may find themselves at least in limbo, denied services congressionally intended to help them effectively integrate into new homes.”
“Lest there be any doubt, giving State and Local Governments the power to consent to the resettlement of refugees — which is to say veto power to determine whether refugees will be received in their midst — flies in the face of clear Congressional intent,” he wrote.
Messitte wore that the court was persuaded that the plaintiffs in the case would likely be able to demonstrate the order was “arbitrary and capricious” as well as “inherently susceptible to hidden bias.”
The Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, which filed a challenge to the order in November along with two other refugee resettlement agencies, praised the judge’s decision.
"We're grateful to Judge Messitte for upholding the rule of law and ensuring that the United States remains a place of welcome for the world's most vulnerable," Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of the refugee service, said in a statement.
"This injunction provides critical relief," she said. "Those who have been waiting for years to reunite with their families and friends will no longer have to choose between their loved ones and the resettlement services that are so critical in their first months as new Americans."
more:
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/federal-judge-blocks-trump-order-allowing-local-governments-refuse-refugees-n1116426
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