The top local stories this morning from the KERA Newsroom:
Texas became the first state yesterday to sue the federal government over the issue of resettling Syrian refugees. The lawsuit also targets the nonprofit International Rescue Committee. The agency announced plans to resettle two Syrian families in Dallas later this week.
Shortly after last month’s terror attacks in Paris, Greg Abbott followed the lead of other governors and announced Texas would not accept Syrian refugees.
Since then, the state health and human services commission and the IRC have gone back-and-forth.
This lawsuit is the first any state has filed over this issue. It says the Refugee Act of 1980 requires the federal government to consult with state authorities.
“Despite the efforts by the Obama Administration to reach out to governors, including the letter they sent to us regarding the situation at large, they still haven’t refuted the information that has been provided by national security leaders who said there is a very real concern that terrorist will be able to infiltrate the Syrian refugees,” Abbott said. He wants a temporary restraining order to stop the resettlement of a Syrian family in Dallas.
The federal Office of Refugee Resettlement has warned Abbott and other governors that they don’t have the power to reject Syrian refugees.
Other stories this morning:
- The man behind Deep Vellum publishing plans on opening a store filled with old-fashioned printed books.
- A new documentary called “Jerusalem” explores the people living there. Some of the holiest sites of three of the world’s major religions can be found within a square mile of each other there. Our Big Screen team talks to a UT Dallas student in the film.
You can listen to North Texas stories weekdays at 8:20 a.m. and 6:20 p.m. on KERA 90.1 FM.
