The INA provides that the number of refugees to be admitted to the United States each fiscal year shall be determined by the President after “appropriate consultation” with Congress. 8 U.S.C. § 1157(a). Subsection 1157(e) defines “appropriate consultation” to include certain categories of information, but only “for the purposes” of consultation with Congress.

And even leaving § 1522(a)(5) aside, the state’s actions present an obstacle to Congress’s scheme in many ways. For example, the federal statute provides that the President allocates refugee admissions, 8 U.S.C. § 1157(b), and that the federal government has ultimate authority to determine where refugees are settled, 8 U.S.C. § 1522(a)(2). But if the state can do what it has done, it has an effective veto over these decisions.

ase the number of refugees admitted for humanitarian concerns: If the President determines, after appropriate consultation, that (1) an unforeseen emergency refugee situation exists, (2) the admission of certain refugees in response to the emergency refugee situation is justified by grave humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest, and (3) the admission to the United State of these refugees cannot be accomplished under subsection (a) of this section, the President may fix a number of refugees to be admitted to the United States during the succeeding period (not to exceed twelve months) in response to the emergency refugee situation and such admissions shall be allocated among refugees of special humanitarian concern to the United States in accordance with a determination made by the President after the appropriate consultation provided Case 1:15-cv-01858-TWP-DKL Document 16 Filed 12/02/15 Page 4 of 29 PageID #: 54 ~ 5 ~ under this subsection. 8 U.S.C. § 1157(b). The President of the United States, pursuant to the powers given to him by the INA, has determined, after appropriate consultations with Congress, that “[t]he admission of up to 85,000 refugees to the United States during Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest.”

The INA provides that the number of refugees to be admitted to the United States each fiscal year shall be determined by the President after “appropriate consultation” with Congress. 8 U.S.C. § 1157(a). Subsection 1157(e) defines “appropriate consultation” to include certain categories of information, but only “for the purposes” of consultation with Congress.

This argument misunderstands a basic foundation of U.S. refugee and asylum law: Both refugees admitted from outside the United States and asylees who have been granted asylum after entering the United States must establish that they meet the definition of “refugee” under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42). 8 U.S.C. §§ 1157(c), 1158(b)(1)(B)(i); 8 C.F.R. § 207.1.

S. Rep. No. 97-638, at 9 (1982) (emphasis added); see H.R. Rep. No. 97-541, at 12 5 Defendants misconstrue Plaintiff’s argument about the “appropriate consultation” required between the President and Congress. 8 U.S.C. § 1157(e). There, the nature, purpose, and extent of the “consultation” is expressly cabined, and Congress is not required “to the maximum extent possible, take into account recommendations of the [President].”

To the extent possible, information described in this subsection shall be provided at least two weeks in advance of discussions in person by designated representatives of the President with such members. 8 U.S.C. § 1157(e). And while this definition applies to what information the President is to receive, that Congress employed the same word (“consultation”) for both what the President is to receive and what States (and their governors and agencies) are to receive, the comparative disparity of reporting, consultation, and accountability put forth by the Federal Defendants in this matter cannot be reconciled with the overall language of the Act and clear purposes of disclosure, cooperation, collaboration, and accountability to the chief executives of the sovereigns Plaintiff’s Application for Temporary Restraining Order Page 9 Case 3:15-cv-03851-N Document 18 Filed 12/09/15 Page 13 of 20 PageID 1088 involved in the process.

As amended, the INA provides that the number of refugees annually shall generally be “such number as the President determines, before the beginning of the fiscal year and after appropriate consultations, is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest.” 8 U.S.C. § 1157(a)(2). Pursuant to this authority, the President has determined, after appropriate consultations with Congress, that “[t]he admission of up to 85,000 refugees to the United States during Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest.”