A case against a Trump administration order blocking refugee resettlement is moving forward in court.
The case was filed by refugees, sponsors and resettlement agencies in response to a January executive order and memo that blocked all refugee resettlement and funding. In a ruling late February, a federal judge ordered the government to restart both resettlement efforts and funding.
In a status report submitted Monday by court order, federal attorneys said some efforts to restart resettlement have already begun and others are planned, but argued resettlement agencies would first have to comply with additional executive orders cutting diversity, equity and inclusion measures, heightened vetting processes for refugees and other arriving immigrants, and other issues.
“The Secretary of State submitted a report on this requirement on or about February 19, 2025, and policy decisions formulating new vetting guidelines for refugees consistent with this executive order are pending,” the report reads. “The Department of State will apply these formulated heightened standards to all refugee arrivals going forward.”
Mevlüde Akay Alp is senior staff attorney for U.S. litigation at the International Refugee Project, or IRAP, which represents the plaintiffs.
“Despite the fact that in their report they discuss some processing of follow to join petitioners who are family members of refugees in the United States, I would caution that that doesn’t actually translate to real relief,” Akay Alp said. “This report doesn't suggest that there has been any meaningful steps towards resuming the USAP as the court ordered the government to do.”
She said that’s because those are first steps in a much longer resettlement process. She says to date, no new refugees have been admitted to the U.S. since the executive order in January. The judge will review both parties’ case updates after this week.
The attorneys also argue resettlement workers furloughed as a result of the funding freeze still need to be rehired. IRAP has filed a separate request asking the court to address ongoing funding issues for the program.
