Judge Blocks Trump Executive Order Suspending Refugee Program

On Tuesday, a federal judge blocked an executive order that President Trump signed shortly after he was sworn in that suspended a decades-old program admitting thousands of refugees into the United States each year, the New York Times reports. Judge Jamal N. Whitehead of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington issued a preliminary injunction that ordered the government to effectively restore both the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and funding to refugee assistance organizations while the court considered the merits of a lawsuit to block Trump’s order. Judge Whitehead said it appeared likely that the Trump administration had exceeded its lawful authority by suspending a program that Congress established by law in 1980. 

More than 3 million refugees have been admitted to the United States under the program, which had persisted through seven presidencies, including Trump’s first term. The plaintiffs have accused Trump of violating the law that established the program, as well as the rule-making procedures of the Administrative Procedure Act and the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee to due process.  Trump has said that he is generally inclined to appeal unfavorable court decisions. The government could ask the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to stay Judge Whitehead’s ruling. A stay from the appellate court, or the Supreme Court, would put the executive order back in place while the legal challenge to it proceeds. But even if Judge Whitehead’s preliminary injunction remains in place, it is unclear whether the administration will comply. The Trump administration has faced a wave of lawsuits challenging its actions, and agencies have been systematically finding loopholes to effectively keep Trump’s orders in place despite directives from judges.