Indiana denied stay of order blocking anti-refugee policy

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - A judge has rejected Indiana's request that she put on hold her order against Republican Gov. Mike Pence's efforts to bar state agencies from helping Syrian refugees.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt denied the state's motion for a stay Tuesday, saying it isn't likely to succeed on appeal and that granting a stay would hurt the refugee assistance group Exodus Refugee Immigration. Exodus sued the state over Pence's order.

Pratt last month blocked the order. She ruled it "clearly discriminates" against refugees from the war-torn country.

The state has argued it has legitimate public safety concerns about refugee screening.

A spokesman for the Indiana Attorney General's Office says the state's appeal of Pratt's ruling remains pending before the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals despite denial of the stay.