Gov. Robert Bentley announced today that he has filed a lawsuit against the federal government for noncompliance with the Refugee Act of 1980, according to a news release from the governor's office.
The act states that the federal government must consult the state government about placing refugees before they are placed in that state. Alabama was not notified or provided with "sufficient information" about the refugees that would be placed in the state, according to the release.
"The federal government’s obligation to consult with the States is thus clear and unequivocal," the lawsuit filing reads. "The federal government 'shall consult' with a State regarding the placement of refugees within its borders before those refugees are placed there."
Defendants named in the lawsuit include the U.S. State Department, The State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement, according to the release.
Bentley signed an order to prevent Syrian refugees from settling in Alabama on Nov. 15, 2015. He has since written three letters to President Barack Obama requesting more information about the Refugee Resettlement Program, according to the release.
"The threat posed by the Syrian refugees is foreseeable and real," Bentley wrote in his first letter, which was dated Nov. 17. "The introduction of Syrian refugees into the United States without proper prior screening and follow-up monitoring could result in a threat to the citizens and property of Alabama. As Governor, I simply cannot expose my fellow Alabamians to the risk of accepting refugees from Syria, whose backgrounds cannot properly be checked to ensure national security."
The lawsuit asks the court to compel the government to issue a declaration that they did not meet their consultation requirement with the Refugee Act of 1980, a complete file on each refugee, including medical history, certification that the refugees do not pose a security risk and a declaration stating they will not place any refugees in Alabama without fulfilling these requirements, according to the release.
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