Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan filed a brief recently on behalf of Harris County supporting a lawsuit that would allow local governments to continue to accept refugees for resettlement in their jurisdictions.
Harris County Commissioners Court authorized Ryan to sign on to a friend of the court brief in the suit that seeks to overturn an executive order from the Trump administration. The lawsuit contends that the order circumvents the Refugee Act of 1980 by requiring state and local governments to affirmatively consent to refugee resettlement in their jurisdictions. If consent is not given, refugees will not be allowed to resettle there.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott was the first governor to say he would not be issuing consent for refugees to resettle in the state. Texas is the second largest refugee resettlement state, with almost half of those refugees coming to Harris County.
“Harris County has always been a diverse and welcoming community,” said County Attorney Ryan. “Refugees are productive members of our community, improving our local economy through hard work, starting small businesses, filling labor gaps, and giving through public service.
“This executive order,” Ryan continued, “is another attempt to take away from local governments the ability to determine how to manage their own communities.”
The lawsuit was filed in Maryland by three agencies that resettle refugees in the United States. They state that the Refugee Act requires the federal government to consult with local governments and agencies in order to ensure successful settlement of refugees in localities which are best suited to take them. This includes having sufficient resources such as jobs and housing, as well as family or community connections.
A federal court judge In Maryland issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the executive order from going into effect. The judge found that the order violated the language and intent of the Refugee Act, that it was unconstitutional in that it gave states power over an area controlled exclusively by the federal government, was arbitrary and capricious and without rational basis. The U.S. government has appealed.
A refugee is a person forced from his or her home country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Many refugees spend years in refugee camps before admission to the United States, undergoing screening by at least eight federal agencies.
Once they arrive in the United States, refugees receive modest, short-term support in the form of housing, nutrition, employment placement and language-training assistance. Refugees also often benefit greatly from both formal and informal supports available from the community, from families, churches and others from the same region.
“It takes courage to be a refugee, forced from your home because of persecution or violence,” County Attorney Ryan said. “Many are women, children, elderly, survivors of violence and torture. We have opened our hearts to them since this country was established. I see no reason to stop now.”
To view the brief click here.
