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Court to weigh appeal on Indiana’s block on Syrian refugees

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AP PHOTO/PAT EATON-ROBB

In this Friday, Sept. 2, 2016 photo, Syrian refugee Fatema, left, sits beside her sleeping 5-year-old son Ayham at the Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services in New Haven, Conn. The family was diverted to Connecticut last year after Indiana Gov. Mike Pence said they were not welcome in that state. In their new home state, they have been received warmly by many, including Connecticut’s Democratic governor, but they say they also have faced difficulties with finding work and with discrimination.

CHICAGO » A federal appeals court in Chicago is set to hear arguments in Republican Indiana Gov. Mike Pence’s appeal of a ruling that blocked his order to bar state agencies from helping Syrian refugees resettle in Indiana.

The appeals court is considering the case Wednesday, about two months before voters decide if Pence will be the nation’s next vice president.

After the November Paris attacks, Pence said he didn’t believe the federal government was adequately screening refugees from war-torn Syria. In February, a federal judge found Pence’s order discriminatory against refugees.

Pence administration attorneys say the directive is “narrowly tailored” in the interest of public safety. But the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana argues refugees are extensively vetted and the state’s argument is “built on fear.”

5 responses to “Court to weigh appeal on Indiana’s block on Syrian refugees”

  1. cojef says:

    ACLU a liberal left leaning organization would naturally state the refugees were properly vetted absent any evidence that they are. The Syrian agencies have no formal registry of citizens and how can one start the vetting process otherwise. The union position as usual is not based on real hard fact. They are not an official body and any statement mouthed by them is of the cuff.

  2. kiragirl says:

    Better safe than sorry?

    • krusha says:

      Doesn’t matter what they do, these xenophobes think all refugees are terrorists no matter how carefully they screen them.

    • BlueEyedWhiteDevil says:

      We don’t know if they are from Syria or Timbuktu, but unlike the pictured Fatima and her child, the overwhelming bulk of the “refugees” are Sunni muslims, not a Christian in the bunch.
      How well do these mostly male “rapeugees” assimilate? Look at Londanistan and the rest of old Europe.

  3. wrightj says:

    A good nap, followed by an ice cream cone.

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