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Syrian Refugees Coming To Texas: Judge Rules Governor’s Plan To Block Them Illegal

By Aaron Homer
Published on: 06:10 PST, Dec 10, 2015

Syrian refugees will be coming to Texas after all, despite Governor Greg Abbott’s fervent attempts to block them, MSN is reporting.

Nine Syrian refugees — a family of eight (including six children between the ages of six and 15), as well as a 26-year-old woman whose mother already lives in Texas — are scheduled to arrive in Houston Thursday. This is despite Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s attempts to block them — and all future Syrian refugees — from resettling in the Lone Star State.

Texas has attempted — twice — to block the refugees from entering the state, and has been rebuffed both times. Last week, according to the Wall Street Journal, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asked the court for an injunction to block six Syrian refugees from resettling in the state. Paxton later withdrew that injunction after learning more about the refugees. Texas sought, again, to block Syrian refugees after learning that a new group was intended for Houston.

It was that second request that was shot down Wednesday by U.S District Judge David Godbey. Calling “speculative heresay” the evidence that Texas provided that the refugees might be dangerous, Godbey blocked the injunction.

“The (Texas) Commission has failed to show by competent evidence that any terrorists actually have infiltrated the refugee program, much less that these particular refugees are terrorists intent on causing harm.”

The Obama administration is moving forward with a plan to resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees in the U.S., although Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed, according to the Washington Post, that the number may actually be as high as 200,000.

“Now I hear we want to take in 200,000. We don’t know where they’re coming from. We don’t know who they are. They could be ISIS. It could be the great Trojan Horse… And I’m saying we’re going to take in 200,000 people that we have no idea where they come from?”

Since the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris that killed 130 people and injured over 300, that plan has been called into question amid concerns about the possibility of ISIS operatives or other terrorists infiltrating Syrian refugees in order to sneak in to the United States. As of this writing, the governors of 31 states — almost all of them Republican — have stated publicly that they will refuse to allow any Syrian refugees to resettle into their states, at least for the time being.

Specifically, those state governors have expressed concerns about the vetting process for the Syrian refugees, which they fear may not be strong enough to weed out potential terrorists. The Obama administration maintains, however, that the process, which may take up to two years, is strong enough.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been the most adamant of the governors refusing Syrian refugees — Texas is the only state that has actually asked the courts to intervene. And outside of court action, Texas has told charities assisting refugee groups that they are in danger of losing funding if they continue to aid the refugees in resettling, according to this Inquisitr report. At least one such charity, the International Rescue Committee, has publicly vowed to continue resettling the refugees in spite of the Governor’s threats.

This week’s ruling will not be the last word on Syrian refugees resettling in Texas, according to Fox News. The state has a third lawsuit intended to stop the resettlement of refugees already making its way through the courts — an initial hearing on that lawsuit is scheduled for January.

Do you believe Texas is right to use the courts to stop the resettlement of Syrian refugees within its borders? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

[Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images]

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