A federal judge in the Western District of Washington has issued an order outlining a “compliance framework” for the Trump administration to follow. This framework requires the administration to start processing around 12,000 refugees by the following Monday.
It’s the latest development in a series of back-and-forth court rulings and moves that have begun to seem a bit like a Ping-Pong match.
The order was issued by U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead, appointed by former President Joe Biden in 2023. Despite objections from the Trump administration during a recent hearing, where they argued they should only need to process 160 refugees and indicated they would likely appeal any order to admit thousands more, the order stands.
Bear with me while I retrace the chronology of this one:
- On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) “until such time as the further entry into the United States of refugees aligns with the interests of the United States.”
- On February 10, 2025, plaintiffs (several non-profit organizations and individuals) filed suit against President Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and then-acting Secretary of Health and Human Services Dorothy Fink challenging the order (both as to the termination of the USRAP program and funding for it.
- On February 28, 2025, Judge Jamal Whitehead issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting administration officials from enforcing the executive order.
- On March 3, 2025, the Trump administration appealed Whitehead’s order to the 9th Circuit.
- On March 25, 2025, the 9th Circuit issued a partial stay of the preliminary injunction.
- On April 22, 2025, the 9th Circuit issued a clarification as to its prior order.
In a recent article, the 9th Circuit’s April 22nd order was discussed, highlighting that it effectively challenged and monitored the decisions made by the lower court overseen by Judge Whitehead.
