“This is an important first step, but this fight is far from over.”

By Andrea Germanos, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 1-15-2020

A march in Minneapols to show solidarity with immigrants and refugees in 2017. Photo: Fibonacci Blue/flickr/CC

A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked a Trump administration order giving states and localities the power to refuse to resettle refugees.

“This injunction provides critical relief,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS). LIRS is one of three faith-based resettlement agencies that had sued to block the September order. “Those who have been waiting for years to reunite with their families and friends will no longer have to choose between their loved ones and the resettlement services that are so critical in their first months as new Americans,” Vignarajah said. Continue reading →