A judge for the US District Court for the Western District of Washington ruled on Monday that President Donald Trump’s administration cannot utilize a proclamation to keep 80 refugees out of the United States. The lead plaintiff, known as “Plaintiff Pacito,” and his family had already been approved for resettlement under the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) when they were informed that their travel was cancelled.
Judge Jamal Whitehead said that the government’s use of Proclamation 10949 to deny admission to about 80 of the “presumptively protected refugees” fails because it flat out “excludes refugees from its scope.” The proclamation specifically says, “Nothing in this proclamation shall be construed to limit the ability of an individual to seek asylum, refugee status, withholding of removal, or protection under the CAT [Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment], consistent with the laws of the United States.” He ordered the government to “immediately resume processing” of these 80 already-vetted individuals.
The judge initially concluded in February that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on their claim that President Trump did not have the authority to “indefinitely suspend a statutory refugee program” (the USRAP) and temporarily enjoined the implementation of Executive Order 14163. On appeal, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a clarification, stating that the district court’s preliminary injunction order only applies to individuals meeting three conditions: (1) The individual had an approved refugee application, (2) The individual was cleared by US Citizenship and Immigration Services for travel to the US, and (3) The individual had arranged and confirmed travel plans to the US.
Using the Ninth Circuit’s three eligibility criteria, Judge Whitehead said: “If a sufficient reliance interest is found, the case becomes Injunction-Protected, and the Government must immediately process, admit, and resettle the case members.”
The original complaint was filed in February this year and alleged that Executive Order 14163, entitled “Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program,” contravened the USRAP. The USRAP, alongside Congress and cabinet representatives, helps to establish the overall admissions levels and regional allocations of refugees for each fiscal year. Executive Order 14163 states that “entry into the United States of refugees under the USRAP would be detrimental to the interests of the United States,” and Trump thereby directed that “entry into the United States of refugees under the USRAP be suspended.”
Judge Whitehead appointed US Magistrate Judge Michelle L. Peterson to oversee these “case-by-case determinations under established procedures that protect both refugee rights and Government authority.” The order is expected to be appealed.
