SEATTLE (AP) – Major refugee aid organizations filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday over an executive order that suspends the federal refugee resettlement program, as well as funding for associated resettlement agencies. The lawsuit, lodged in U.S. District Court in Seattle, seeks to declare the executive order illegal, halt its implementation, and restore funding related to refugee assistance.
Melissa Keaney, an attorney with the International Refugee Assistance Project, stated in a news release, “President Trump cannot override the will of Congress with the stroke of a pen. The United States has a moral and legal obligation to protect refugees, and the longer this illegal suspension continues, the more dire the consequences will be.”
The executive order issued by President Donald Trump indicated that the refugee program—a method of legal migration to the United States—would be paused due to cities and communities feeling overwhelmed by “record levels of migration” and lacking the capacity to accommodate large numbers of newcomers, particularly refugees. The Trump administration had yet to respond to inquiries concerning the lawsuit.
This legal action was initiated by the International Refugee Assistance Project, representing Church World Service, HIAS (a Jewish refugee resettlement agency), Lutheran Community Services Northwest, and several individual refugees. The organizations contend that Trump’s order has severely hindered their capacity to deliver essential services to refugees both domestically and internationally. The lawsuit notes that the order has already disrupted travel plans for approved refugees, leading to last-minute cancellations and prolonging separations for families hoping to reunite.
The lawsuit asserts that the suspension of the refugee program is unlawful and infringes upon Congress's authority to legislate immigration law. The federal refugee program, which has functioned for decades, assists individuals who have escaped war, natural disasters, or persecution. Despite ongoing support for refugee resettlement, the program has faced increasing politicization in recent years.
Refugees go through a comprehensive vetting process that can span several years, typically initiated by referrals from the United Nations to the U.S. State Department. Historically, the resettlement program has enjoyed bipartisan support; however, the first Trump administration temporarily halted the program and subsequently reduced the annual admission cap for refugees significantly.
Notably, religious organizations predominantly manage refugee resettlement efforts in the United States, with seven of the ten national agencies receiving federal funding being faith-based organizations. This lawsuit represents yet another legal challenge to Trump’s immigration strategies, which have also included efforts to terminate automatic citizenship for children born to undocumented immigrants and restrictions on asylum access at the southern border.
