Story highlights Federal appeals court upholds injunction blocking Mike Pence's attempt to prevent Syrian families from resettling in Indiana

Washington (CNN) A federal appeals court on Monday dealt a blow to Donald Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, upholding a preliminary injunction blocking Indiana's effort to prevent resettlement of Syrian refugee families in his state.

The ruling from a three judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit held that there is "nothing to suggest that Indiana is a magnet for Syrians." The opinion, penned by Judge Richard Posner, is critical at times of the arguments put forward by the state noting that it "provides no evidence that Syrian terrorists are posing as refugees or that Syrian refugees have ever committed acts of terrorism in the United States."

Posner calls the suggestion "nightmare speculation."

In stinging language, the court dismissed the state's argument that it has a compelling interest in protecting its residents. And Posner rejects the idea that the policy is based solely on the threat Pence thinks the refugees might pose to the safety of the citizens of Indiana.

"(Pence) argues that his policy of excluding Syrian refugees is based not on nationality and thus is not discriminatory, but is based solely on the threat he thinks they pose to the safety of residents of Indiana," Posner wrote. "But that's the equivalent of his saying (not that he does say) that he wants to forbid black people to settle in Indiana not because they're black but because he's afraid of them, and since race is therefore not his motive he isn't discriminating. But that of course would be racial discrimination, just as his targeting Syrian refugees is discrimination on the basis of nationality."

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