Feds asks U.S. Supreme Court to reject Tennessee’s refugee lawsuit

The federal government is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reject Tennessee’s ongoing lawsuit over refugee resettlement.

Attorneys on behalf of the federal government made the move Friday, asking the high court to deny a writ of certiorari, a formal request seeking the Supreme Court’s involvement.

The government’s response comes months after attorneys representing the state asked the court to consider the matter.

The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in March 2017, claims the federal government is forcing states to cover the cost of refugee resettlement while violating the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The 10th Amendment says the federal government possesses only the powers delegated to it by the Constitution and all other powers are reserved to the states.

In their response, the federal government asked the Supreme Court to consider two questions:

Whether the Tennessee General Assembly failed to establish an injury and thus lacked standing for the case to proceed; and

Whether the 10th Amendment allows Tennessee, which opted out of running the federal refugee program, to be exempt from providing Medicaid benefits to eligible refugees.

Earlier this year, attorneys for the state asked the high court to consider two different questions: whether the legislature had standing to sue the federal government and whether states can be forced to pay for costs associated with a federal program they no longer run.

Overall, the federal government roundly rejected Tennessee’s lawsuit in its latest filing.

The defendants argue the Tennessee legislature, which initiated the case after passing a resolution in 2016, lacked standing because it did not show any form of injury.

“No legislative authority has been usurped, either temporarily or permanently, and no action by the General Assembly, either past or future, has been nullified,” federal attorneys wrote.

Attorneys also took issue with the fact the state Attorney General declined to back the lawsuit, forcing the plaintiffs to hire outside counsel.

Further, the government said the state’s claims of being coerced to pay for costs associated with refugees are overblown.

Attorneys for the state have argued Tennessee faces a threat of losing billions of dollars in federal Medicaid funding if it refuses to cover costs associated with resettled refugees.

Despite the state opting out of the refugee resettlement program, the federal government says Tennessee still is required to cover the Medicaid cost of eligible refugees, citing the 1996 legislation commonly known as the Welfare Reform Act.

The legislation “made clear that States may not deny coverage to refugees who satisfy Medicaid’s eligibility requirements until seven years after their admission,” the federal government wrote.

The Supreme Court’s consideration of the case comes after a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit in March 2018. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals similarly rejected the matter, dismissing it in July 2019. Lawyers representing the state are now wanting the Supreme Court to step in.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee and the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition have criticized the lawsuit, which they said will negatively affect the state’s refugee community and perpetuate a culture of fear.

The Eagle Forum, Immigration Reform Law Institute and Center for Immigration Studies have filed briefs in the case, offering support for Tennessee’s lawsuit.

Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.