Attorney General Files Suit to Halt Relocation of Syrian Refugees to Texas

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that he has filed suit on behalf of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) against the federal government to halt the relocation of refugees from Syria in the state, said a press release Wednesday. Paxton is citing the Refugee Act of 1980, which requires that the federal government consult with state authorities in advance of such relocations.

"While Texans are compassionate to our core, and take in more refugees than any other state, significant security concerns have been raised about President Obama's plans to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees this fiscal year, nationwide," stated Paxton. "The federal government's stated inability to run effective background checks on these refugees, entering the United States from one of the world's most potent hotbeds of terrorism, puts all Texans at risk. Under the law, the federal government has a responsibility to consult with the states in advance when relocating refugees, and has not fulfilled that burden here."

He added, "The point of this lawsuit is not about specific refugees, it is about protecting Texans by ensuring that the federal government fulfills its obligation to properly vet the refugees and cooperate and consult with the state."

According to the press release, Texas takes in roughly 10 percent of the refugees resettled in the United States, partnering with local volunteer agencies to help refugees transition to the State and pay associated costs. In this case, authorities have left Texas uninformed about refugees that could well pose a security risk to Texans and gives them no say in the process.

James Comey, FBI Director, recently told Congress that the federal government cannot conduct effective security checks on Syrian nationals. He stated, "We can query our database until the cows come home, but nothing will show up because we have no record of them." National Intelligence Director James Clapper summed up the worries of these federal counterterrorism experts: "I don't, obviously, put it past the likes of ISIL to infiltrate operatives among these refugees."

The filing can be viewed at https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/files/epress/TXHHSvUSA.pdf.