The state is the first to challenge the program based on the 10th Amendment, claiming the federal government’s refugee policy places an “economic burden on the state’s taxpayers.”

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Tennessee Assembly and state lawmakers by the Thomas More Law Center. It claims the federal government is not complying with a 1980 law calling for federal support of refugee resettlements.

Alabama and Texas filed similar lawsuits, but not on 10th Amendment grounds. The suit alleges Tennessee is bearing the costs of refugees eligible for Medicaid, who use public schools and receive other social services, and cannot refuse to provide Medicaid without risking $7 billion in federal funding. 

Read the full article from NBC News.