Federal Judge Denies Texas Right to Reject Syrian Refugees

Federal Judge Puts Risk on Citizens

The trouble with the law, at times, is it abandons common sense for legalistic twisting and turning. In this case, the judge declined the lawsuit because the responsibility for immigration is with the executive branch, knowing full well that the Obama administration or the executive branch has already decided that it will ignore immigration law. It is a spineless and gutless decision that leaves the citizens twisting in the wind, looking for someone who will actually enforce the law.

U.S. District Court Judge David Godbey of Dallas ruled on Monday that it was not up to the courts to interfere with issues that should be handled by the executive branch and that Texas officials failed to prove the state could win its lawsuit challenging the process of finding refugees new homes.

“The Court does not deny that the Syrian refugees pose some risk. That would be foolish,” Godbey wrote. “In our country, however, it is the federal executive that is charged with assessing and mitigating that risk, not the states and not the courts.”

The Justice Department responded to the Texas suit by calling it political bluster. In filings opposing the legal action, the administration argued that allegations suggesting that terrorists could exploit the refugee system were “hearsay, and are at best speculative.”

It is unlikely that Judge Godbey or members of the administration will have any of these new immigrants living next door to them, so they will be insulated from the decision to allow thousands of people in without proper vetting.

The Texas lawsuit, brought against the federal government and a contractor tasked with refugee resettlement, came amid a tense political climate that turned a negative spotlight on the vetting process facing Syrian refugees. A string of terror attacks stoked fears that assailants could take advantage of the U.S. immigration systems to wage future strikes. More than 30 governors responded by threatening to shut out all Syrian refugees until the dust settled.

Texas in December became the first state to take the feds to court over the issue. Alabama followed its lead a month later. In separate suits, state officials claimed that the federal government violated the Refugee Act of 1980 by not consulting states in deciding where Syrian refugees should be placed to live in the United States.

It is very hard to understand the motivation of the Obama administration in putting immigrant interests and needs ahead of those of American citizens. But when the next Islamic terrorist attack occurs in the United States, and law enforcement assures us that it will surely come, we have to wonder who is going to pay the price for this reckless and lawless policy that puts innocent citizens at risk and creates tremendous fear and disruption in the locations that are affected. The likelihood is that the administration will make the typical sounds of sympathy and say “but we didn’t know this would happen.” That very well may be Judge Godbey’s response as well.

Source: msnbc.com