TENNESSEE SUES FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OVER VIOLATION OF 10TH AMENDMENT
NASHVILLE — Tennessee became the first state Monday to sue the federal government over refugee resettlement, saying it is in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s 10th Amendment.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Jackson, Tenn., and alleges that federal government has assumed powers beyond what the Constitution grants it.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
— 10th Amendment, U.S. Constitution
The lawsuit also argues that the federal government has forced states to pay for its refugee resettlement program. The federal refugee act was designed to create a permanent procedure for the admission of refugees into the United States.
The lawsuit asks the court to force the federal government to stop resettling refugees in Tennessee until the federal government assumes all costs associated with the settlement.
“Plaintiffs will suffer significant and irreparable harm unless this court intervenes,” the 15-page lawsuit states.
