A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from suspending the U.S. refugee program, siding with resettlement groups that challenged a Day One order from the president.
U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead said in his ruling after a hearing Tuesday that President Trump’s actions amount to an “effective nullification of congressional will” in setting up the nation’s refugee admissions program.
“The president has substantial discretion … to suspend refugee admissions,” Whitehead told the parties. “But that authority is not limitless.”
The bench ruling grants a request for a preliminary injunction on the executive order.
Trump’s order barred processing of those fleeing persecution and danger for 90 days as administration officials study whether accepting refugees is “in the interests of the United States,” leaving it to the president to determine when to do so.
The suit was filed on behalf of Church World Service, Lutheran Community Services Northwest, and HIAS, formerly the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, and challenged not just the suspension but the abrupt cutoff of funding to those that aid refugees. That includes for refugees that had already arrived to the U.S under the Biden administration.
Nine refugees are also listed as plaintiffs in the suit, representing those cut off from accessing the program, a group that includes many refugees from Iraq and Afghanistan
Even before the order formally took effect, the State Department suspended refugee flights, saying it was “coordinating with implementing partners to suspend refugee arrivals to the United States and cease processing activities.”
A federal judge last week however declined to reinstate refugee funding in a similar case brought by Catholic bishops.
The Associated Press contributed.
