(RNS) — The lead plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s attempt to bar refugees who had already won admission to the United States arrived in North Carolina last week. Now, a federal judge in Washington state has ordered the government to admit many more.
In his latest order issued Monday (July 14), U.S. District Judge Jamal N. Whitehead, a Biden appointee, said the Trump administration must allow in more refugees who had travel booked to the United States before the president indefinitely froze the refugee program in January. That includes refugees from countries affected by Trump’s June travel ban.
“This is a welcome order that puts in place a very clear framework for the government to follow in order to ensure that they comply with the district court’s injunction,” said Mevlüde Akay Alp, a senior staff attorney for the International Refugee Assistance Project, which brought the suit.
The IRAP brought the suit on behalf of individual refugees as well as three faith-based refugee resettlement agencies: HIAS, Church World Service and Lutheran Community Services Northwest. The lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, a 22-year Congolese refugee, was supposed to arrive in the United States on Jan. 22 but his travel was canceled in anticipation of the refugee freeze slated to take effect on Jan. 27. He, his wife and son were finally admitted to the country Thursday and are being resettled in North Carolina. The lawsuit uses the alias Pacito to protect the man from retaliation.
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A subgroup of 160 refugees whose travel to the U.S. was booked before Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order freezing the refugee program has already been given a green light to enter the U.S. About 47 of those 160 have arrived since May. Monday’s order paves the way for thousands of others.
The government argued it should not have to resettle 80 of those 160 refugees because they were living in one of the 12 countries affected by the travel ban. In his order Monday, Whitehead said the travel ban’s text excludes refugees. The judge went further and said that beyond those 80, other refugees from travel ban countries with flights already booked may also be eligible.
Afghan refugees hold placards during a meeting to discuss their situation after President Donald Trump paused U.S. refugee programs, in Islamabad, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
According to the government, as many as 12,000 refugees had made travel plans to the U.S. before the refugee freeze. Most of those will also have to show a “reliance interest,” meaning that the refugees relied on the U.S. government’s assurance that their travel had been arranged and had taken additional steps, such as selling their possessions, giving up their home or pulling kids out of school.
Refugees slated for resettlement in the U.S. go through a sometimes yearslong vetting process to start new lives in America. That includes multiple interviews, medical exams and security screenings. Those 12,000 had already completed the process when the executive order was issued hours after Trump’s inauguration.
The State Department on Tuesday said it does not comment on ongoing litigation.
The order stipulates that within seven days the U.S. government must identify “review-eligible” cases and provide a list to plaintiffs.
Afghan refugees required by the U.S. government to relocate to Qatar for processing, travel and admission to the U.S., as well as unaccompanied refugee minor children, do not have to show “reliant interest,” the judge ruled.
Magistrate Judge Michelle Peterson of Seattle will review the cases.
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