The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday found that the president possesses the statutory authority to suspend the entry of refugees into the United States under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. A three-judge panel reached that conclusion and in doing so largely set aside prior injunctions from a federal judge in Seattle that had blocked the administration’s suspension of resettlement.
President Trump paused refugee resettlement immediately after taking office in January 2025, saying the USRAP must ensure refugees admitted to the United States "appropriately assimilate." That pause prompted a class-action lawsuit brought by refugees, family members and resettlement organizations challenging the suspension and related actions.
Senior U.S. Circuit Judge Jay Bybee, writing for the panel, acknowledged the human consequences of the ruling. He wrote that the court recognized the "enormous practical implications" of overturning the district judge’s orders, noting that "There are over one hundred thousand vetted and conditionally approved refugees, many of whom may have spent years completing the USRAP process in a third country only to be turned away on the tarmac."
Bybee and the other appellate judges on the panel were appointed by a Republican president, and Bybee emphasized that the court’s decision rests on the authority Congress has granted the president to suspend entry to immigrants. "Whether that consequence reflects prudent policy is not a question for this court," he wrote.
The ruling did not fully endorse all of the administration’s actions. On a 2-1 vote, the appeals court upheld injunctions that block an end to services for refugees who have already been admitted and bar termination of cooperative agreements with resettlement support centers. Those limited injunctions preserve certain protections for refugees already resettled in the United States while allowing the administration to continue its pause on new admissions.
Mevlude Akay Alp, a lawyer for the plaintiffs with the International Refugee Assistance Project, criticized the decision in a statement, saying the ruling "removes the ability for refugees stranded by the refugee ban to be safely resettled, or even have their cases processed, while President Trump’s cruel ban continues." The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
U.S. Circuit Judge Kenneth Lee, a Trump appointee, issued a partial dissent. He said he would have fully overturned the injunctions entered by U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead, who was appointed by President Joe Biden. "District courts cannot stand athwart, yelling 'stop' just because they genuinely believe they are the last refuge against policies that they deem to be deeply unwise," Lee wrote.
The appeals court’s decision therefore leaves in place the administration’s ability to pause new refugee admissions while maintaining certain protections for refugees already in the United States. It also sets up a legal posture in which most of the Seattle judge’s orders have been stayed, even as some tailored relief for admitted refugees remains effective.