Federal Judge Grants Preliminary Injunction Against Trump Executive Order
January 23, 2020 Ascentria Care Alliance
On January 15th, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against Trump’s executive order, which would have required state and local governments to submit written consent to the federal government in order to resettle refugees. Essentially, this injunction suspends that requirement until further legal proceedings determine whether or not the executive order violated federal law.
This injunction was issued in response to a lawsuit filed by two of our partners, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS) and Church World Service (CWS), along with the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS).
“According to the filed complaint, the executive order violates federal law, which requires federal agencies to make decisions about where refugees are to be placed within the United States according to a detailed list of factors, leaving no room for state and local governments to veto decisions related to refugee policy,” said LIRS.
| This mean’s that Texas’ decision to halt refugee resettlement has yet to take effect and could be blocked entirely. Learn more about that here. |
Until a decision is reached (and potentially after, if ruled in our favor) Ascentria and other agencies will continue to resettle refugees in the communities that we’ve worked with for decades. We’re proud to stand by our partners and other refugee resettlement agencies as we fight to ensure that refugees continue to be welcomed into our communities and provided a safe harbor to build new lives.