In this action, the State filed suit against the federal government over the resettlement of refugees in Alabama. We joined with Adelante Alabama Worker Center, Alabama Appleseed Center For Law & Justice, Inc., Alabama Coalition For Immigrant Justice, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, Birmingham Islamic Society, Cair-Al, Center For New Community, Ellin Jimmerson, Greater Birmingham Ministries, Hispanic Interest Coalition Of Alabama, The Love Law Firm, LLC, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, National Immigration Law Center, National Lawyers Guild, Pamela Long, Rubio Law Firm, P.C., Southeast Immigrant Rights Network, and Southern Poverty Law Center to file an amicus brief in opposition to the State, arguing that Alabama’s proposed bar on refugee resettlement and demand for confidential refugee files violates the Equal Protection Clause on the basis of alienage and that Governor Bentley’s impermissible animus against Syrian refugees conflicts with the Equal Protection Clause.
On July 29, 2016, the court dismissed Alabama’s complaint, finding that each of the States’ three claims failed to “state a claim for which relief may be granted because (1) there is no private right of action to enforce the Refugee Act, (2) the consultation required is not an agency action under the Administrative Procedures Act, and (3) Plaintiffs do not have a clear right to relief and Defendants do not owe them a clear ministerial duty.”
Alabama then filed a motion seeking to have its appeal dismissed and the District Court’s opinion vacated, arguing that Section 6(d) of President Trump’s March 6, 2017, executive order (a/k/a Muslim Ban 2.0) requires the consultation that Alabama was requesting through its lawsuit. The federal government consented to the motion. We quickly filed a response saying that while dismissal was proper, the district court’s opinion should not be vacated. The Eleventh Circuit then dismissed the case but specifically declined to vacate the lower court opinion.
The case is now closed.