Refugee resettlement groups challenge Trump's program freeze
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President Trump cancels travel for refugees approved to enter US
President Donald Trump canceled travel plans for refugees approved to travel in the United States with an executive order on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025.
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Several U.S. refugee resettlement organizations asked a federal judge on Monday to restore the U.S. refugee program, arguing President Donald Trump's indefinite suspension is unlawful and is causing irreparable harm.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington State, challenges Trump's pause of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. The president said the break was necessary to determine if it 'aligns with the interests of the United States,' with a report due every 90 days on whether the program should be resumed.
Trump's move closed the door on many already-vetted and approved refugees, including former Afghan allies who once aided the U.S. and refugee family members waiting to be reunified.
The Trump Administration also stopped federal funding for faith-based U.S. resettlement organizations, crippling their ability to provide services, the lawsuit said. That can include help with housing, job placement and language courses.
'Shutting down this proven and Congressionally-mandated program irrevocably harms tens of thousands of vulnerable refugee families we have pledged to support,' Rick Santos, the head of Church World Service, one of the plaintiff agencies, said in a statement.
The new litigation, which asks the court to declare Trump's suspension illegal, enjoin its implementation and restore refugee-related funding, was filed by Church World Service, HIAS, Lutheran Community Services Northwest and nine impacted individuals.
That includes a refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo whose family sold all of their belongings only to find their flight had been canceled days before they were set to leave, according to the groups.
The State Department did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment.
The lawsuit echoes the legal battle that unfolded in 2017, when federal courts intervened amid a Trump ban targeting refugees from Muslim-majority countries and those seeking family reunification.
Still, during Trump's first term, he slashed annual refugee admittance caps, set by presidents, to a historic low of about 15,000. That in turn led to funding cuts that hobbled or closed some U.S. resettlement organizations.
Former President Joe Biden restored the program that resettled more than 100,000 refugees in fiscal year 2024, reaching a 30-year high.
Mark Hetfield, HIAS President, said that when the executive order was issued last month, nearly 44,000 of the 125,000 admissions ceiling set by Biden had been met for the current fiscal year that began Oct. 1.
Although the refugee program has historically enjoyed bipartisan support and has resettled more than 3 million refugees fleeing persecution since 1980, Trump has long portrayed it as a security vulnerability and a strain on communities.
But advocates say refugees admitted under the program constitute some of the country's most vetted immigrants, spending years going through security checks, medical exams and interviews before they're resettled with the help of local agencies.
And they noted that a federal study found that over a 15-year period, refugees contributed $123 billion more than they cost the government.
The lawsuit also aims to resume federal funding of refugee resettlement organizations, arguing that Trump's changes have already left them 'struggling to keep their lights on and their staff employed, let alone continue to serve the vulnerable refugees at the core of their missions.'
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