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DALLAS (AP) —
Days before a family of six Syrian refugees was to arrive in Texas, the furniture and supplies for their apartment were ready.
Local volunteers collected mattresses, toys and bicycles for two children. Syrians already settled here were prepared to welcome them and help them get acquainted with their new home thousands of miles from their war-torn homeland.
Even as governors in some states say Syrian refugees aren't welcome, resettlement agencies and volunteer groups with refugees continue welcoming them.
Refugees arrived this week in two cities in Texas and in Indiana, both states whose governors have said they reject Syrian refugees due to concerns they might pose a threat to public safety.
A family of six refugees was settled Monday night in Dallas, joining relatives living in the region already, and a couple and their four daughters arrived in Houston. They arrived as Texas was mounting the most aggressive campaign of any state against Syrian refugees.
And a couple and their two young children arrived in Indiana at the invitation of the Roman Catholic archdiocese in Indianapolis, which went on with plans to resettle them despite calls from Gov. Mike Pence not to do so.
The family in Dallas arrived to a furnished apartment and a stocked refrigerator, said Lucy Carrigan, spokeswoman for the International Rescue Committee. An IRC caseworker was expected to meet with them shortly after their arrival and map out their next steps, from enrolling children in school to how to use local mass transit, said Donna Duvin, executive director of the IRC's Dallas office.
Duvin said her agency's work with the Syrian family was not greatly different from how it regularly helps refugees, though heavy media attention has followed this family's arrival. The agency, she said, wanted to "as much as possible, create a sense of a normal life" for this family and all refugees.
"Families who have been separated, especially by the trauma of war, are desperate to have their families with them here so they can really feel like they can get on with their lives," Duvin said.
The Dallas area has several apartment complexes filled with new arrivals from around the world. Volunteers who regularly work with refugees say they've seen an uptick in donations and offers to help in the wake of more attention being paid to Syrian refugees.
"We've been overwhelmed with messages of support, messages to be shared with the families, and all the Syrians, and even refugees from other countries who've made their home in Dallas," said Anne Marie Weiss-Armush, president of DFW International Community Alliance, who is working with the newly arrived family.
The archdiocese in Indianapolis said the four Syrians who arrived there had fled Syria three years ago and underwent two years of security checks before being allowed to enter the U.S.
Archbishop Joseph Tobin said he considered Pence's recent request to not bring the family to Indiana until Congress had approved new legislation regarding immigrants and refugees. But he said he welcomed them anyway because helping refugees "is an essential part of our identity as Catholic Christians."
Pence and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott were among more than two dozen Republican governors who said they would refuse any new Syrian refugees following the deadly Nov. 13 Paris attacks, which have been linked to the Islamic State group operating in Syria.
Pence said Tuesday that he still supports a ban on Syrian refugees, but that he won't try to deny Medicaid, food stamps or other social services to Syrians who arrive in Indiana.
Abbott was in Washington with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to support a Cruz bill that would allow governors to refuse refugees they deem to be a security threat.
"I will continue to do everything that I can to ensure that refugees from Syria who could pose a danger to the people of the state of Texas will not be allowed to relocate into the state of Texas," Abbott said.
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) —
Forecasters say strong storms that could spin off tornadoes are possible this weekend in parts of the South.
The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, says parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas could see severe thunderstorms on Saturday, including Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Tulsa, Oklahoma. On Sunday, the threat shifts to the east, where Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama are at risk for bad weather.
Forecasters say damaging winds are the biggest risk but tornadoes can't be ruled out.
Forecasters say tornadoes do occasionally strike in December, even though spring is usually the prime time for severe weather. Last year, five people died when tornadoes struck Mississippi two days before Christmas.
WASHINGTON (AP) —
The Supreme Court appears torn over the use of race in college admissions and may not be ready to make a decision without more information.
During arguments Wednesday, several justices asked about the value of ordering more hearings in a case from Texas that was before them for the second time.
Additional evidence might determine whether the use of race is necessary to increase diversity at the University of Texas.
The justices rehashed many of the same arguments they discussed three years ago in the case of Abigail Fisher. Justice Anthony Kennedy, crucial to the outcome, said there was information that "we should know and don't know."
Fisher has been out of college since 2012, but the justices' renewed interest in her case appeared to be a sign that the court's conservative majority is poised to cut back, or even end, affirmative action in higher education.
Their skepticism about it was on display during more than 90 minutes in a packed courtroom.
"What unique perspective does a minority student bring to a physics class?" Chief Justice John Roberts asked at one point, challenging a part of Texas' argument that says their program is needed to increase diversity at the classroom level.
But it was not clear from the arguments whether Kennedy would go as far as the other conservatives appeared willing to deal a blow to race as a factor in college admissions.
Potentially complicating the outcome, Justice Elena Kagan is sitting out the case because she worked on it at an earlier stage at the Justice Department, before joining the court. Her absence creates the possibility of a 4-4 split. That would resolve the case in Texas' favor, but say nothing about the issue nationally. The other three liberal justices appeared solidly in favor of the Texas program.
The arguments focused on whether the university flagship campus in Austin has compelling reasons to consider race among other factors when it evaluates applicants for about one-quarter of its freshman class. Most students are admitted to the university through a plan that guarantees slots to Texans who graduate in the top 10 percent of their high school classes.
Fisher says the "top 10" program works well to bring in Hispanic and African-American students, without considering race. Bert Rein, representing Fisher, said the university can take other steps to diversify its student body without explicit reference to race, including reducing its reliance on standardized test scores.
Texas says the "top 10" program alone is not enough and that the school needs the freedom to fill out incoming classes as it sees fit. Gregory Garre said on behalf of the university that minority enrollment plummeted at top public universities in California and Michigan after they ended the consideration of race.
"Now is not the time and this is not the case to roll back student-body diversity in America," Garre said.
Twelve years ago, the justices reaffirmed the consideration of race in the quest for diversity on campus. A more conservative court first heard Fisher's case in 2012; the case ended inconclusively with a tepid decision that ordered a lower court review.
The federal appeals court in New Orleans has twice upheld the Texas admissions program and rejected Fisher's appeal.
Fisher's case was conceived by Edward Blum, an opponent of racial preferences. Blum also is behind lawsuits against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina that aim to eliminate any consideration of race in college admissions.
Texas is unique in marrying the top 10 plan to a separate admissions review in which race is one of many factors considered. The university's current freshman class is 22 percent Hispanic and 4.5 percent African-American. White students make up less than one-half the school's freshmen.
Eight states prohibit the use of race in public college admissions: Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Washington.
The Obama administration, dozens of colleges and many of the nation's largest businesses are supporting Texas in defending its program.
There also are competing arguments over whether racial preference programs actually limit the number of students from Asian backgrounds, who are disproportionately represented in student bodies relative to their share of the population.
The case is Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, 14-981.