US appeals court allows Trump order blocking refugees to take effect; processing for refugees conditionally approved continues News
United States Senate - Office of Dan Sullivan, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
US appeals court allows Trump order blocking refugees to take effect; processing for refugees conditionally approved continues

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California allowed President Donald Trump’s executive order blocking the processing of refugee applications to take effect on Tuesday. However, the order states that processing of individuals conditionally approved for refugee status before the executive order was issued must continue.

The executive order effectively suspends the entry of refugees under the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). The order cites “record levels of migration” behind the suspension.

Under section three of the executive order, decisions on applications for refugee status are suspended for 90 days until the Secretary of Homeland Security can provide a report to President Trump on whether the admittance of refugees is in the US’ interest. Under section four, President Trump will decide whether the US will resume processing refugee applications once he reviews this report.

The plaintiffs, refugees who have “suffered harm as a result” of the executive order, brought a claim against the executive order in early February. The defendants are President Trump and other government officials. The plaintiffs argued that once the executive order was signed, agencies began to follow its terms and “canceled scheduled travel for refugees.” One of the plaintiffs, Pacito, was scheduled to travel in late January with his wife and baby but was told their travel was canceled. The plaintiffs seek a temporary restraining order and injunction of the suspension of refugee application processing and admissions.

In late February, the district court granted a preliminary injunction in favour of the plaintiffs,  which enjoined the defendants from enforcing the executive order and suspending refugee processing and admissions, among other actions. The plaintiffs brought a supplemental complaint in early March, and the district court later granted a second preliminary injunction in favor of the plaintiffs.

The defendants then filed a motion to stay the district court’s order, which the appeals court has granted and denied in part. The order is granted to the extent that the executive order can take effect while waiting on the merits of the plaintiff’s claim but does not apply to refugees who were conditionally approved before January 20, 2025. Similarly, the executive order cannot revoke the refugee status of those admitted before it was issued.

Although President Trump’s order can take effect in part, the merits of the plaintiffs’ claims have yet to be decided.

The International Refugee Assistance Project, the advocacy organization that represents the plaintiffs in this case, released a statement regarding the appeals court’s order:

The court affirmed that the government must continue processing and admitting eligible refugees whose lives were upended by President Trump’s refugee ban. We welcome this continued relief for tens of thousands of refugees who will now have the opportunity to restart their lives in the United States, and look forward to arguing this case in full. IRAP will continue to fight for our clients and to ensure the United States Refugee Admissions Program continues to offer lifesaving services to people fleeing violence and persecution from around the world.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Treaty of Paris ends Crimean War

On March 30, 1856, representatives of Great Britain, France, Sardinia, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire signed the Treaty of Paris of 1856, ending the Crimean War. The treaty confirmed Russia's loss of power and territory a result of the war. The Black Sea region and some Russian islands were demilitarized, and Russia lost its influence over Romanian principalities and Christians in the Ottoman Empire under the terms of the treaty.