(AP) As states and cities debate whether to welcome more refugees to their communities, three organizations sued the Trump administration Thursday over a recent presidential executive order that allows local officials to reject refugees.
The lawsuit filed in a Maryland federal court by three resettlement agencies contends the executive order threatens to keep thousands of refugees from being reunited with their families and placed in communities where they can thrive.
President Donald Trump issued the order in September when he also reduced the cap on the number of refugees allowed into the country from 30,000 in 2019 to 18,000 in 2020, the lowest level since Congress passed the Refugee Act of 1980.
