The Texas Health and Human Services Commission has filed a federal lawsuit against the New York-based International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the Obama administration, so as to block Syrian refugees from settling in the Dallas area. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, the U.S. State Department are named as defendants in the case through which Texas is seeking an injunction to halt the resettlement of Syrian refugees claiming that the defendants have violated their "statutory duty" to consult with the State in advance of placing refugees in Texas.
"The federal government and the Committee have left Texas uninformed about refugees that could well pose a security risk to Texans and without any say in the process of resettling these refugees," the suit reads, according to The Guardian.
The case has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, by Attorney General Ken Paxton. "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," said Paxton in a statement, according to AOL.
"Refugees are victims of terror, not terrorists, and the families we help have always been welcomed by the people of Texas. The IRC acts within the spirit and letter of the law, and we are hopeful that this matter resolved soon," read a statement by the IRC which declined to comment directly on the state's lawsuit, reports the Texas Tribune.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Texas has provided homes to 180 refugees.
