ACLU sues Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, demands state accept Syrian refugees
Source: Washington Post
“In the wake of the horrific attacks in Paris, effective immediately, I am directing all state agencies to suspend the resettlement of additional Syrian refugees in the state of Indiana pending assurances from the federal government that proper security measures have been achieved,” Gov. Mike Pence (R) announced on Nov. 16.
Pence was joined by more than 25 other governors — all Republican expect for one — in barring Syrian refugees from their states. GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump called accepting Syrian asylum seekers “insane.” President Obama, meanwhile, shot back on Twitter that “Slamming the door in the face of refugees would betray our deepest values. That’s not who we are. And it’s not what we’re going to do.”
On Monday, the political debate deepened when the American Civil Liberties Union announced it was suing Pence for his decision. In a lawsuit filed in federal court on behalf of Exodus Refugee Immigration, the nonprofit that had planned to help the Syrian family of three resettle in Indiana, the ACLU claimed that Pence’s decision to bar Syrian refugees violated the Constitution, the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the federal government’s exclusive authority over immigration.
“This lawsuit is calling out Governor Pence on his unconstitutional bluff,” Judy Rabinovitz, deputy legal director of the ACLU’s immigrants’ rights project, said in a news release. “He does not have the power to pick and choose between which lawfully admitted refugees he is willing to accept. Singling out Syrian refugees for exclusion from Indiana is not only ethically wrong, it is unconstitutional. Period.”
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/11/24/aclu-sues-indiana-gov-mike-pence-demands-state-accept-syrian-refugees/
Such a lawsuit was inevitable. Pence has already scored xenophobic points with his base. He will lose this lawsuit but it will not matter to him.
