Judge Won’t Hold Hearing On Texas Suit To Block Syrian Refugees This Week

FILE - In this July 25, 2011 file photo, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott talks with the media as he leaves the Tom Green County Courthouse, in San Angelo, Texas. Abbott is accusing Google of improperly withholding... FILE - In this July 25, 2011 file photo, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott talks with the media as he leaves the Tom Green County Courthouse, in San Angelo, Texas. Abbott is accusing Google of improperly withholding evidence sought in an investigation into whether the company has been abusing its dominance of Internet search. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File) MORE LESS
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A federal judge said on Monday that he will not hold a hearing this week on Texas’ lawsuit against the federal government and a nonprofit refugee aid group, the ACLU of Texas told the Dallas Morning News.

“The court held an informal status conference by telephone with parties today, and there will be no hearing on Texas’s motion for preliminary injunction this week,” Rebecca L. Robertson, the ACLU of Texas’ policy and legal director, said in a statement.

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission filed a lawsuit against the federal government and the International Rescue Committee last week in an attempt to keep refugees from Syria from resettling in the state. The state on Friday withdrew a temporary restraining order to keep refugees from arriving in the state this week, but will continue to pursue the lawsuit in court.

U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey, who was nominated by President George W. Bush, will hear the case.

Twelve Syrian refugees are expected to arrive in the state on Monday. A family of six will head to Dallas and another family of six will travel to Houston, according to a legal brief filed by the Department of Justice. And an additional nine refugees from Syria will be resettled in Houston on Thursday.

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