Pence has no power to block Syrian refugees from coming to Indiana, lawsuit says

Gov. Mike Pence is facing a federal lawsuit that challenges his power to block Syrian refugees from resettling in Indiana.

The lawsuit, filed Monday night, by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, accuses Pence of violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution by accepting refugees from other countries but not those from Syria. It comes a week after the Indiana governor — and many of his counterparts around the country — suspended the resettlement of Syrian refugees in their states following terrorist attacks in Paris.

Ken Falk, legal director for the ACLU of Indiana, said immigration and refugee resettlement is in the territory of the federal government and states do not have the authority to intrude.

"We're saying he doesn't have the right," Carleen Miller, executive director of Exodus Refugee Immigration, said of Pence. "He's actually interfering with our contractual agreements with the U.S. government."

The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana on behalf of Exodus, an Indianapolis nonprofit that resettles refugees in Indiana and receives federal dollars to aid refugees. John Wernert, secretary of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, which oversees refugee settlement in the state, is the other defendant named in the lawsuit.

A  spokeswoman for Pence said in a statement Tuesday that the governor stands by his decision and that he is confident in his power to suspend the resettlement of refugees in the state. Kara Brooks further said that Pence will not change his stand until the federal government addresses "security gaps" regarding Syrian refugees.

"Governor Pence took a decisive action a week ago to put the safety and security of people of Indiana first..." Brooks said in the statement. "The governor believes that public safety is not a partisan issue. A bipartisan majority of governors have taken similar actions."

Pence also is accused of violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act for suspending resettlement of Syrian refugees "solely because of their national origin," the complaint says.

Pence stops Syrian refugee resettlement in Indiana

The complaint cites the Immigration and Nationality Act, which gives the president of the United States the power to increase the number of refugees admitted into the country for humanitarian reasons. President Barack Obama announced in September that the U.S. will take in at least 10,000 Syrian refugees over the next year.

Although refugees aren't U.S. citizens, case laws have indicated that the Constitution applies to them if they're in the country legally, Falk said.

Miller said fears about refugees are "completely misguided," and decisions based on those fears result in "irrational actions targeted at one group." She added that there's a big difference between people who have been vetted by the federal government to come to the U.S. and those who could pose security threats. Refugees, she said, go through a very rigorous screening that lasts between 18 months and three years, and a very small portion of those who want to come to the U.S. actually pass the vetting process.

"Refugees are people actually fleeing from those terrorists," Miller said. "These are folks that have been discriminated against or persecuted against in their own country … and we're saying you're not welcome."

Refugees who are allowed to come here are usually the most vulnerable, including women and children who have been victims of gender-based discrimination, people with medical conditions that can't be treated in their home countries and torture survivors, Miller said.

According to the 13-page complaint, Pence's decision also caused some financial harm to Exodus. It receives federal funds, which are funneled through state agencies,and are spent on employment training, English language education and other services, according to the ACLU of Indiana.

Shortly after Pence made his announcement on Nov. 16, a family of Syrian refugees who were supposed to arrive Dec. 10 in Indianapolis were diverted away from the state and were later welcomed in Connecticut. The family waited three years to move to Indianapolis. The complaint says Exodus had expended both staff time and resources to prepare for the arrival of the Syrian family — resources that would've assisted other refugees.

The complaint says the federal government has approved 19 other Syrians to be resettled in Indiana over the next few months, and Exodus will have to use its own resources to prepare for the arrival of those refugees, regardless of Pence's order. The agency will not be reimbursed for its expenses if state officials refuse to provide assistance, the complaint says.

Miller said her agency has to spend staff and financial resources to find permanent homes, furnish those homes, find schools for families with children and begin a health screening process, if needed, before refugees arrive to Indianapolis.

Not having those resources for refugees can be devastating for families who come to the U.S. with nothing, Falk said.

Exodus is supposed to receive 890 refugees for 2016, all of whom have been approved for refugee status by the federal government. Of those refugees, 215 are expected to be from northeastern or South Asia, with a large number coming from Syria, according to the complaint.

The ACLU of Indiana is asking a federal judge to issue a ruling that would temporarily prevent state officials from blocking resettlement of Syrian refugees in Indiana. This is the first lawsuit filed in response to decisions by states to halt refugee resettlement.

Governors from Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio and Texas also have announced they will refuse to accept Syrian refugees in their respective states. The decision was prompted by reports suggesting that one of the Paris bombers may have posed as a Syrian refugee.

Pence’s decision attracted criticisms from the ACLU of Indiana, Exodus, Center for Victim and Human Rights, and Muslim Alliance of Indiana, all of whom asked the governor to reconsider his position. Also Monday, 18 Indiana organizations — including Exodus — sent Pence a letter urging him to “reverse your rhetoric on Syrian refugees.”

“Your rejection of Syrian refugees is grounded in fear, not fact,” the letter said, “and is inconsistent with who we are as a country.”

Those who signed onto the letter included faith, human rights, immigration and legal aid groups.

The U.S. House of Representatives, including most of Indiana's federal lawmakers, voted last week to halt the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the country until they undergo the toughest vetting process ever developed for people fleeing a war-torn nation.

Indiana takes in about 1,600 refugees from all countries each year, with the largest population being Burmese. About 40 Syrian refugees have resettled in the state since 2010, according to the Family and Social Services Administration.

Star reporter Stephanie Wang and Washington bureau reporter Maureen Groppe contributed to this story. Call Star reporter Kristine Guerra at (317) 444-6209. Follow her on Twitter: @kristine_guerra.

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