All refugees, including those fleeing Syria today, undergo the most rigorous screening and security vetting processes. The capitulation came shortly after the federal government reminded Texas that it has no authority to bar refugees from resettling there.
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Friday’s legal wrangling began when U.S. Justice Department lawyers filed a brief asking Godbey to dismiss Paxton’s lawsuit, arguing that Abbott and other state officials lacked the authority to intervene.
Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had claimed that the IRC handed over few details about the refugees and no assurances about whether they posed a threat to public safety.
She said her nonprofit shared with Texas officials a day before the Paris attacks a spreadsheet that listed a proposed number of 200 to 250 Syrians refugees expected this fiscal year.
They were to be the first in the state since Gov. Greg Abbott sent a letter to President Obama telling him that Texas would not accept any more Syrians because of security concerns. The temporary restraining order was withdrawn after saying the United States government had provided additional information about the refugee group.
The swift reversal diffused a standoff Texas started after becoming the first state to sue the US government in efforts to turn away Syrians.
On Wednesday, the Texas Tribune reported that 242 Syrian refugees have been resettled in Texas over the past three years.
The ebb in legal objections will allow 21 Syrian refugees, including two families with young children, to settle in Dallas and Houston next week.
Since the Paris attacks, at least 29 USA governors have vowed to keep new Syrian refugees outside their state borders.
The agency who is resettling the refugees, the International Rescue Committee, also filed separate paperwork at a US District Court, citing that Texas could not discriminate on the basis of nationality as it was a violation of US civil rights laws.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says he’s opening his city’s doors to Syrian refugee families after Texas sued the federal government to block their settlement.
Despite withdrawing their request for a temporary restraining order on the resettlements, the state has requested a hearing on or before December 9 to express their remaining concerns.
The federal government announced earlier Friday that the two families would be coming Monday.
Paxton, however, isn’t entirely dropping the lawsuit. However, that procedure, which includes background and biometric checks against intelligence databases, can take up to two years and will be administered by the US Department of State, according to resettlement leaders.
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The swift reversal diffused a lawsuit the Obama administration criticized as unfounded.
