Austin, TX — A federal judge on Thursday tossed out a Texas lawsuit filed to prevent Syrian refugees from settling in the state.

In dismissing the lawsuit, U.S. District Judge David Godbey said the state failed to make “a plausible claim for relief” in its filing. Today’s ruling is a victory for President Barack Obama and a refugee resettlement group named International Rescue Committee, both of whom had urged that the lawsuit be dropped.

The American Civil Liberties Union applauded today’s ruling. Cecillia Wang, director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project and lead counsel for the International Rescue Committee, posited the judge’s ruling as a repudiation of efforts to block immigrant resettlement.

“The court has tossed Texas’ case out of court and held that there is no legal merit to the state’s claims,” Wang said in a prepared statement. “This ruling is a strong rebuke of efforts to block refugee resettlement. It sends the clear message to other states that such attempts are not only un-American, they are contrary to the law and will fail in court.”

In a press release, Attorney General Ken Paxton expressed disappointment in the ruling from the Dallas court.

“I am disappointed with the court’s determination that Texas cannot hold the federal government accountable to consult with us before resettling refugees here,” Paxton said. “We are considering our options moving forward to guarantee the safety of Texans from domestic and foreign threats.”

In making his case to ensure the safety of Texans amid a Syrian refugee exodus from their war-torn country, Paxton previously requested an emergency order to block the arrival in Texas of nine Syrian refugees — six of them children. Like Thursday’s ruling on the lawsuit, that motion by Paxton also was dismissed, the judge categorizing Paxton’s assertions of a terrorist threat as “largely speculative hearsay.”

Gov. Greg Abbott also previously voiced his opposition to welcoming Syrian immigrants. He personally wrote a letter to Obama last November detailing his plans to block efforts for Syrian refugees to resettle in Texas, citing the terrorist attacks in Paris as the reason for his opposition.

“Given the tragic attacks in Paris and the threats we have already seen, Texas cannot participate in any program that will result in Syrian refugees — any one of whom could be connected to terrorism being resettled in Texas,” Abbott wrote.

He then advised Obama not to allow more Syrians to relocate in the U.S. “Effective today, I am directing the Texas Health & Human Services Commission’s Refugee Resettlement Program to not participate in the resettlement of any Syrian refugees in the State of Texas,” the governor wrote. “And I urge you, as President, to halt your plans to allow Syrians to be resettled anywhere in the United States.”