Federal court temporarily blocks Trump admin plan to suspend refugee resettlement program
The ruling came during a court hearing over a lawsuit brought by a group of nonprofits that receive federal funds under a congressional law. The nonprofits provide a range of social services for newly-arrived refugees in the U.S.
On Monday, a judge in Seattle issued an injunction ordering the Trump administration to reinstate its contracts with refugee agencies. Tuesday's ruling came from the three-judge panel Ninth Circuit court, which directs the administration to continue to process applications that started the process prior to Jan. 20.
"The motion is denied to the extent the district court's preliminary injunction order applies to individuals who were conditionally approved for refugee status by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services before January 20, 2025," the order states. "Executive Order No. 14163 does not purport to revoke the refugee status of individuals who received that status under the United States Refugee Admissions Program prior to January 20, 2025. In all other respects, the district court's February 28, 2025, preliminary injunction order is stayed."
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending refugee resettlement and ordering the Department of Homeland Security to report back in 90 days on whether resuming resettlement would be in the interests of the U.S.
"The United States lacks the ability to absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees, into its communities in a manner that does not compromise the availability of resources for Americans, that protects their safety and security, and that ensures the appropriate assimilation of refugees," Trump said in his Jan. 20 order.
The case had been brought by refugee groups, including International Refugee Assistance Project, HIAS, Lutheran Community Services Northwest and individual refugees. The groups argued their ability to provide services to refugees had been damaged by the Trump order.
The order was one of several attempting to limit both illegal and legal immigration, including the use of parole to allow in migrants by the Biden administration.
Trump limited refugee resettlement in his first term, but President Joe Biden made moves to take in more refugees, including by increasing the refugee cap.
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28 minutes ago
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However, big tech companies are likely to eat any additional costs related to AI infrastructure because 'demand is so strong,' said Michelle Brophy, director of research for tech, media and telecom at market intelligence firm AlphaSense. It's a different story for smaller companies that don't have billions to spend each quarter. They also typically have private investors demanding a fast return on investment, and data centers are long-term bets that could take years to show value in a meaningful way. Between 2015 and 2020, it took one to three years on average to construct a data center, according to commercial real estate services firm CBRE. And a data center is useful for 25 years to 30 years on average, McKinsey & Company senior partner Pankaj Sachdeva said in October 2024. Because data centers are long-term projects, 'the degree of uncertainty will have a larger impact in terms of, you know, committing to something that will take multiple years to execute,' said Laurence Ales, a professor of economics at Carnegie Mellon University. It's also unclear whether Trump's semiconductor tariffs will raise the cost of future data centers. The president said companies that have 'committed' to building in the US won't have to pay a levy on semiconductors. 'But the good news for companies like Apple is, if you're building in the United States, or have committed to build, without question, committed to build in the United States, there will be no charge,' he said on August 6 during an event announcing Apple's $100 billion initiative to produce iPhone parts in the US. Trump didn't specify which companies would be exempt, but chipmaking giants Nvidia and TSMC have both said they would expand their US operations. Experts believe more collaboration between the White House and Silicon Valley is likely to come, possibly easing any potential tariff-induced costs for tech giants. Trump showed his willingness to negotiate with tech leaders earlier this week: He allowed Nvidia and AMD to sell their AI chips to China as long as they provide a 15% cut to the US government in exchange for export licenses. And the White House is reportedly discussing taking a stake in chipmaker Intel. Building AI infrastructure is a key part of the White House's AI action plan, which includes policy recommendations for streamlining permits for facilities like data centers and semiconductor manufacturing facilities. The United States already has more data centers than any other country, according to data from Cloudscene, a platform that connects businesses with cloud services, compiled by Statista. Many of the world's largest cloud providers, like Microsoft and Amazon, are American companies. 'We need to be mindful that this is an area in which we have an advantage,' Matt Pearl, director of the strategic technologies program at the Center for International and Strategic Studies, said to CNN. 'And we don't want to give that up.'
