INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – A federal appeals court on Monday dismissed as “nightmare speculation” Indiana Gov. Mike Pence’s fears that Syrian immigrants could commit acts of terror, siding with a judge who blocked Pence’s order seeking to prevent agencies from helping the immigrants resettle in the state.
The ruling by a three-judge panel for the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago affirmed a preliminary injunction that a federal judge in Indianapolis issued in February. That judge found that last year’s order by the Republican governor, now Donald Trump’s running mate, “clearly discriminates” against refugees from the war-torn nation.
Pence was among dozens of governors from mostly GOP states who attempted to block Syrian refugees following the terror attacks last November in Paris, saying there were questions about the federal government’s refugee screening process.
Pence sought to withhold federal funds for groups, including Indianapolis-based Exodus Refugee Immigration, that help Syrian refugees with housing, medical and social services and job training.
But the appeals court, which subjected Indiana’s solicitor general to unusually fierce questioning during arguments before the panel in September, said in its ruling that federal law does not allow a governor “to deport to other states immigrants he deems dangerous.”