The ACLU of Texas represented the International Rescue Committee (IRC), which was sued by the state of Texas in a bid to stop families fleeing violence and starvation in war-torn Syria from being resettled in Texas.
Immediately after the terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015, Governor Greg Abbott announced that Texas would no longer cooperate with the federal government’s resettlement of Syrian refugees because, according to Abbott, the government could not insure that Syrian refugees would not commit acts of terror against the people of Texas. Our client contracts with the Texas Health & Human Service Commission to provide social services, such as job training and medical services, to newly arriving refugees.
When IRC notified the state that it could not discriminate against refugees based on nationality, the State of Texas filed suit against IRC and the federal government agencies that administer the asylum program. The case was pending in the District Court for the Northern District of Texas. After failed motions for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction, the court granted IRC’s motion to dismiss the state’s claims. This was a huge victory for our clients and the Syrian refugees who now call Texas home.
We were joined by ACLU National’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, Southern Poverty Law Center, National Immigration Law Center, and Susman Godfrey.
