Texas sues feds to block resettlement of 6 Syrian refugees

The state says in the lawsuit that the IRC and the federal government have left Texas "uninformed about refugees that could well pose a security risk to Texans."

The IRC, which was also named in the lawsuit, has repeatedly noted that Syrian refugees are the most security-vetted group of people who come into the U.S. The Obama administration says that vetting is thorough and can take up to two years.

Abbott is among more than two dozen governors, mostly Republicans, who have vowed since the Paris attacks to keep new Syrian refugees from resettling in their states, expressing fears that militants planning a terror attack could enter the country under the guise of seeking refuge from war-torn Syria.

State refugee coordinators are consulted by the federal government and the nine refugee resettlement agencies that have contracts with the government, but that consultation is largely to ensure refugees are settled in cities with adequate jobs, housing and social services.

Federal courts — including the U.S. Supreme Court — have upheld that immigration and admission of noncitizens to the United States is a federal responsibility and one managed wholly by the federal government.