Federal Judge Tanya Walton Pratt blocked Gov. Mike Pence’s ban Monday on Indiana state agencies paying federal grant funds to local refugees’ resettlement agencies.
Pratt ruled Monday on the Exodus Refugee Immigration Inc. complaint against Pence and John Wernert, the new Family and Social Services Administration secretary, according to the judge’s 36-page opinion on the subject.
The complaint claimed the State’s action was in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Civil Rights Act of 1964, according to the court opinion.
The State reasons not assisting in the resettlement of refugees is in the interest of public safety.
Exodus argued not offering social services to refugees does not protect Indiana residents.
Instead, Exodus said it discriminates specifically against Syrians, according to the court opinion.
Pratt agreed.
Her ruling grants a request for a preliminary injunction, which effectively stops Pence from enforcing his ban for the time being.
The injunction restrains the State’s claims but does not immediately or permanently dismiss them.
“The withholding of funds from Exodus that are meant to provide social services to Syrian refugees in no way directly, or even indirectly, promotes the safety of Indiana citizens,” Pratt said in the opinion. “The State’s position to the contrary rests upon assumptions about which the evidence is, at best, unclear.”
Pratt dissected the State’s claim on the basis of prudential standing, merits, level of scrutiny and irreparable harm.
“The State’s directive is entirely unresponsive to the Syrians already here, and sweeps too broadly with the 27 Syrian refugees it seeks to deter from coming,” Pratt said.
Lindsay Moore
