November 25: The Roman Catholic bishops of Texas said that Catholic refugee agencies won’t comply with the state directive to stop resettling Syrians in Texas.
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A total of 21 Syrian refugees are scheduled to be resettled in Dallas and Houston next week.
Abbott’s order to block Syrian refugees in Texas came shortly after the terrorist attack in Paris. A Syrian family originally scheduled to arrive in Dallas Friday remained in NY while the legal challenges were being contested.
The lawsuit was filed by the attorney general on behalf of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, as was previously reported by Breitbart Texas.
Also Friday, the agency bringing the refugees to Texas – the International Rescue Committee – urged Godbey to allow resettlement efforts to continue, saying Abbott is “acting without any lawful authority … to interfere with refugee resettlement”.
Earlier this week, Texas’ Attorney General, Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the federal government requesting that a judge order an immediate halt to the resettlements.
Paxton, however, isn’t entirely dropping the lawsuit.
“The United States has a long-standing tradition of welcoming refugees, and this Administration is committed to preserving that tradition, consistent with the values that have endured through generations”, he said in the statement.
Legal experts were not surprised by the move, since the state has no authority over immigration or refugee resettlement, and the federal government has been informing the state about the refugee vetting process and the resettlement program. If the federal government plans on accepting 10,000 Syrian refugees this year, that would mean as many as 1,000 refugees could be headed to the Lone Star State.
Many are children younger than 13 and the group includes grandparents and a single woman trying to reunite with her mother who already lives here.
Federal officials told U.S. District Judge David Godbey in court filings that Texas was harming national interests determined by President Barack Obama.
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The family is expected to take an apartment in the same complex as several other Syrians.
