Federal Judge Blocks Trump Admin From Defunding, Suspending Refugee Programs

A federal judge in Seattle has blocked an executive order by President Donald Trump that paused international refugee resettlement processing and funding for the agencies that performed those services. ‘To be sure, the president has substantial discretion … to suspend refugee admissions, but that authority is not limitless,” District Judge Jamal N. Whitehead said at a hearing on Feb. 25. Whitehead said his decision was prompted by the harm caused to the plaintiffs, including the shuttering of refugee agencies and hardship imposed on individuals who had their plans to immigrate to the United States suddenly canceled following the executive order. He also said the order “nullified the will of Congress” by withholding funds allocated for those programs....