text: Gov. Bill Haslam (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) 
   
   SHARE 
   
   By Erik Schelzig, The Associated Press 
   
   NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Republican Gov. Bill Haslam has decided not to veto a resolution demanding a lawsuit be filed over the federal refugee resettlement program in Tennessee. 
   
   The governor announced Friday that despite his concerns about the measure, he was allowing it to go forward without his signature. 
   
   "I have constitutional concerns about one branch of government telling another what to do," Haslam said in a written statement to lawmakers. 
   
   Haslam said he had asked state Attorney General Herbert Slatery to clarify whether lawmakers have the authority to hire outside attorneys to represent the state. 
   
   Sponsors of the resolution have said that the Thomas More Law Center in Michigan has agreed to represent the state on a refugee lawsuit free of charge if the attorney general declines to sue. 
   
   Immigrant and refugee rights organizations who oppose the measure say it makes the state look unwelcoming. They also have argued that the true intention of the law is to stop or limit Muslim refugee resettlement in Tennessee. 
   
   Stephanie Teatro, co-executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, said the group was disappointed the governor didn't veto the measure, which she called constitutionally suspect. 
   
   "As the global refugee crisis persists, we urge Governor Haslam to act with greater moral authority and courageous leadership," she said in a statement. "We must counter fear and discrimination toward people fleeing persecution and provide greater investment in the life-saving work of refugee resettlement programs." 
   
   Fears about refugees in Tennessee came into focus after terrorist attacks last year in Paris and San Bernardino, California. Supporters say the lawsuit is necessary because they believe refugees are not being properly vetted by President Barack Obama's administration. 
   
   Alabama and Texas have sued the federal government over the refugee rights program. 
   
   Tennessee pulled out of the federal refugee resettlement program in 2008, Andrea Helling, a spokeswoman for the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, said in an email. Catholic Charities of Tennessee has been administering the program since that time, she said. 
   
   "Since the passage of the Refugee Act of 1980, over 3 million refugees from more than 70 countries have been given safe haven in the U.S., along with the possibility of a new beginning, and freedom from persecution and displacement," Helling said. 
   
   ___ 
   
   Associated Press Writer Sheila Burke contributed to this report. ||||| (Photo: WKRN) 
   
   NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – A resolution that allows the state of Tennessee to sue the federal government over refugee placement has been approved. 
   
   Governor Bill Haslam returned the resolution without his signature, saying he trusts the Attorney General “to determine whether the state has a claim in this case or any other.” 
   
   Fears about allowing refugees into Tennessee came about after terrorist attacks last year in Paris and San Bernardino. 
   
   The Paris attacks were claimed by ISIS and both Syrian and Egyptian passports were found near the bodies of two perpetrators. 
   
   Despite Haslam deciding against a veto of Tennessee’s resolution, he said he has “constitutional concerns” about one branch of the government telling another what to do. 
   
   He requested the Attorney General clarify “whether the legislative branch actually has the authority to hire outside counsel to represent the state.” 
   
   “I also question whether seeking to dismantle the Refugee Act of 1980 is the proper course for our state,” Haslam added. 
   
   Last November, a state representative requested Attorney General Herbert Slatery issue an opinion on the proposed lawsuit regarding refugees. 
   
   Slatery said the state cannot refuse to accept people the federal government has admitted to the country as refugees. 
   
   He explained that “such a refusal would impinge on and conflict with the federal government’s authority to regulate the admission of aliens to the United States and thus would violate the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.” 
   
   The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition responded Friday, saying while they are disappointed Haslam chose not to veto the resolution. 
   
   “We agree with his assessment that the resolution itself is constitutionally suspect and that the legislature has overstepped its authority. We also agree that attempting to dismantle the refugee resettlement program will not make our communities any safer.” Click here to read their full statement. 
   
   Hedy Weinberg, executive director of the ACLU of Tennessee, also responded and released the following statement: 
   
   We are disappointed that the governor has chosen to allow this discriminatory resolution to become law. We share his concerns that this measure allows an unconstitutional power grab by one branch of government, undermining the separation of powers that is at the very heart of the Tennessee Constitution. This fear-driven attempt to halt refugee resettlement in our state by targeting families who are themselves fleeing violence and terror does not make our state safer. We will monitor implementation of this resolution to ensure that all residents of our state are treated fairly, equally and compassionately.
target: – Tennessee is poised to be the first state to sue the federal government to prevent the settlement of refugees, the Tennessean reports. On Friday, Gov. Bill Haslam refused to sign—but also refused to veto—a resolution passed resoundingly by the Tennessee legislature earlier this year. That lack of action allows the rest of the state government to move forward with a lawsuit against the federal government. The resolution calls on the state attorney general to sue the federal government. If the attorney general decides not to, the resolution says the legislature will hire its own lawyers to do so. Supporters of the resolution say they'll use a law firm that has previously challenged “abortionists, pornographers, those against school prayer, those against the Ten Commandments, those against God.” Haslam has expressed a number of concerns about the resolution in the past, including whether or not the legislature has the authority to hire outside counsel to represent the state and letting a branch of the government tell the attorney general what to do, the AP reports. The attorney general's office hasn't said whether it will follow through on the lawsuit. But attorney general Herbert Slatery has in the past said the state legally can't refuse to accept refugees mandated by the federal government, according to WKRN. Opponents of the resolution say it will make life harder for refugees already living in Tennessee. “Attempting to block refugee resettlement blames refugees for the very terror they are fleeing," the Tennessean quotes an ACLU executive director as saying. The resolution was supported through an online petition titled "Don't let potential terrorists come to Tennessee."