A federal judge will soon rule whether refugees can be included in a travel ban enacted by the Trump administration that bars nationals from several countries.
President Donald Trump completely shut down refugee admissions and funding just after taking office in January.
Aid groups, sponsors and refugees filed suit, arguing the president doesn’t have the authority to end a program created by Congress.
A federal court ordered the administration to begin processing refugees again while the case progressed, including those whose travel plans had been disrupted by the January freeze.
But in June, Trump’s travel ban completely barred U.S. entry for a dozen nationalities, and partially barred several more.
Attorney Jonathan Hawley, who represents the plaintiffs, said the government has been slow to begin processing again. Now, the ban could impact about two-thirds of the 120 refugees who have been processed and are now awaiting U.S. entry.
“Refugees, as we have discussed previously and as the court has noted, are among the most carefully screened and vetted individuals in the U.S. immigration infrastructure. So refugees are not visa holders, and none of the rational stated in the travel ban could possibly apply,” he said.
Hawley said the word "visa" is mentioned some 60 times in the June 4 proclamation, and he pointed to a section of the document that states that “nothing in this proclamation shall be construed to limit the ability of an individual to seek asylum, refugee status, withholding of removal, or protection under the CAT, consistent with the laws of the United States.”
Government attorneys argued resettlement has restarted but the ban could apply to refugees if they’re outside the U.S.
District Court judge Judge Jamal Whitehead is expected to make a partial ruling later this week.
-
The closure, which applies to the trail’s southernmost mile, will likely last through the end of 2027, according to the Arizona Trail Association, a Tucson-based nonprofit. -
More than 350,000 Haitians are living and working legally in the U.S. under the status — which is available to nationals from countries deemed unsafe to return to because of war, natural disasters or other crises. -
The department did not release a list of names of the people it says are family, business or personal acquaintances of people associated with the drug cartel. -
The analysis uses government data, spanning asylum and refugee admissions to work visas and international students. -
In a letter to new DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Gallego and Kelly say they’re writing to follow up on an original request from February — in which they asked the agency for more details about plans for a warehouse facility in surprise, and an old jail in Marana, just outside Tucson.
