A Seattle-based federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s effort to suspend the United States’s refugee program, siding with resettlement groups that argued the move unlawfully disrupted the system Congress established for admitting refugees.
U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, ruled from the bench that President Donald Trump’s executive order, which halted refugee processing for 90 days, amounted to an “effective nullification of congressional will.”
While Whitehead acknowledged that the president has broad authority over refugee admissions, he ultimately held that such power “is not limitless,” according to the Associated Press.
The judge’s preliminary injunction halts key provisions of Trump’s order, which the administration had justified as a temporary pause to determine whether refugee admissions align with U.S. national interests.
The lawsuit, filed by Church World Service, Lutheran Community Services Northwest, and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society on Feb. 10, also challenged the administration’s abrupt termination of funding for resettlement agencies, including support for refugees already let in the U.S. under the Biden administration.
Nine refugees, including individuals from Iraq and Afghanistan, also joined the suit, arguing they had been improperly denied access to the program.
The ruling marks the start of a split forming between two federal district court judges. Last week, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, refused to temporarily reinstate funding for the refugee program in response to a complaint brought by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The impact of Trump’s order was immediate, as the State Department had already suspended refugee flights and instructed implementing partners to stop processing new arrivals.
CATHOLIC BISHOPS SUE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OVER REFUGEE FUNDING HALT
During Tuesday’s hearing, Whitehead also criticized the implementation of Trump’s order by the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Health and Human Services, stating that their action “likely violates bedrock principles of administrative law” by expanding the scope of the order without proper deliberation or public notice, according to Politico.
Lawyers for the Justice Department have asked the judge to stay his order while the administration considers an appeal, to which the judge said he would decide on that matter in his forthcoming written order.
