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[MJPIA]

http://thehill.com/policy/national-...ccuses-pence-of-discrimination-against-syrian

A federal appeals court on Monday ruled against Indiana Gov. Mike Pence’s efforts to block payments to a nonprofit assisting with resettlement of Syrian refugees.

In harsh language, a three-judge panel on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals accused the Republican vice presidential nominee of unfairly attacking Exodus Refugee Immigration for resettling the refugees, despite “no evidence” that the migrants might be terrorists in disguise.

“t is nightmare speculation,” Judge Richard Posner declared in his opinion.
Pence’s policy barring payments to the organization “is discrimination on the basis of nationality,” Posner declared.

The ruling, which affirmed an injunction handed down by a lower court, is a harsh indictment of the governor's policy, and comes a day before he is set to debate Sen. Tim Kaine (Va.), the Democratic nominee for president.

The decision is all the more jarring given the conservative slant of the court.

Both Posner and Judge Frank Easterbrook, another member of the three judge-panel, were appointed by Ronald Reagan.

Judge Diane Sykes, the final judge on the appeals panel, was listed by Donald Trump as one of his potential picks to replace Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, should he be elected president.

Pence had barred Exodus from receiving money to provide social services to resettled refugees, despite the existence of a contract the group had signed with the state of Indiana. Refugees from Syria, he had claimed, posed a terror threat to his state, and needed to be blocked.

Some backstory.
http://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2016/10/mike-pence-refugees-court/502730/

The case’s origins trace back to November 2015, when Pence directed state agencies to deny federal grant money to organizations that assist refugees from Syria. His executive order, which was issued days after the Paris terrorist attacks, came amid similar resistance from other Republican-led states to the Obama administration’s resettlement program.

Exodus, a nonprofit organization in Indiana that helps refugees resettle there, sued Pence in response. A federal district court sided with Exodus and issued an injunction blocking Pence’s order from going into effect in February.

Other states, including Alabama and Texas, have also waged legal battles in the courts to block Syrian refugees. But what set Indiana’s appeal to the Seventh Circuit apart was the high-profile three-judge panel that heard it. In addition to Posner, the nation’s most-cited legal scholar, the panel also consisted of Frank Easterbrook, a star in the conservative legal firmament, and Diane Sykes, whom Donald Trump frequently suggests he would appoint to the Supreme Court.

Ruling is 6 pages long.
http://media.ca7.uscourts.gov/cgi-b...3/C:16-1509:J:Posner:aut:T:fnOp:N:1838881:S:0
The relevant portion.

The governor’s brief asserts “the State’s compelling interest in protecting its residents from the well‐documented threat of terrorists posing as refugees to gain entry into Western countries.” But the brief provides no evidence that Syrian terrorists are posing as refugees or that Syrian refugees have ever committed acts of terrorism in the United States. Indeed, as far as can be determined from public sources, no Syrian refugees have been arrested or prosecuted for terrorist acts or attempts in the United States. And if Syrian refugees do pose a terrorist threat, implementation of the governor’s policy would simply increase the risk of terrorism in whatever states Syrian refugees were shunted to. Federal law does not allow a governor to deport to other states immigrants he deems dangerous; rather he should communicate his fears to the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
He argues that his policy of excluding Syrian refugees is based not on nationality and thus is not discriminatory, but is based solely on the threat he thinks they pose to the safety of residents of Indiana. But that’s the equivalent of his saying (not that he does say) that he wants to forbid black people to settle in Indiana not because they’re black but because he’s afraid of them, and since race is therefore not his motive he isn’t discriminating. But that of course would be racial discrimination, just as his targeting Syrian refugees is discrimination on the basis of nationality.
A final oddity about the governor’s position is how isolated it is. There are after all fifty states, and nothing to suggest that Indiana is a magnet for Syrians. Although in the fall of 2015 a number of state governors issued statements opposing the resettlement of Syrian in their domains, their opposition petered out. Since then Syrian refugees have been resettled in 40 states (Indiana of course is one of them), and there is no indication that their absence from the other 10 is attributable to actions by state governments. Indiana is free to withdraw from the refugee assistance program, as other states have done; yet withdrawal might not interrupt the flow of Syrian refugees to the state because in states that choose not to participate in the refugee assistance program the federal government has been authorized to establish an alternative program, called Wilson/Fish, that distributes federal aid to refugees in a state without the involvement of the state government. 8 U.S.C. § 1522(e)(7); 45 C.F.R. § 400.69.
The district judge granted a preliminary injunction in favor of Exodus because she believed it likely to prevail in the trial on the merits that is the usual next stage of litigation after the issuance of such an injunction. She was right, and therefore the preliminary injunction is AFFIRMED

Considering who is on the appeal court I did not expect this result and especially not its harsh wording.
Pence just got served.
It'll be interesting to see if this is brought up in the debate tomorrow.

Lock if old.

 

[Skilletor]

What is going on today? Did people in positions to give a fuck suddenly realize that they had not been and should start to do so?

 

[Princess Carl]

Basic humanity shouldn't be based on party lines and kudos to them for remembering that.

 

[SwiftDeath]

3 seperate Judges, all conservative still side against the Republican VP because of how evil/immoral his actions were/are.

Somethings are beyond party lines

 

[Slayven]

What is going on today? Did people in positions to give a fuck suddenly realize that they had not been and should start to do so?

Something is going on, something is going on

 

[Aurongel]

Good on them for not party-lining human rights issues like this, especially praise worthy given the fact that it's a potential VP they're taking to task.

 

[Steel]

Odds on Tim Kaine bringing this up in the debate?

 

[GitarooMan]

Three of the more right-wing justices can't help but call Pence out for what he is. What an embarrassment. Easterbrook and Posner are two of the most respected jurists in the federal courts, so good luck on Trump/Pence trying to spin this one

 

[Loxley]

Hopefully this will come up during the debate tomorrow.

 

[LiquidSword]

Odds on Tim Kaine bringing this up in the debate?

Hopefully this will come up during the debate tomorrow.

So much ammo. This, not pardoning an innocent man, and gay (torture) conversion therapy. The man is a monster and I hope all of this is brought up.

 

[Htown]

Something is going on, something is going on

it doesn't matter who posts this or in what context, it always gives me a chuckle