9th Circuit Court of Appeals reverses lower court’s decision that green lit refugee processing

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals — which includes Arizona — has reversed a lower court’s decision that green lit refugee processing in the United States.

It’s the latest ruling in a case that began more than a year ago, after a Day 1 executive order enacted by President Donald Trump froze all refugee admissions and the funding attached to them.

Resettlement agencies filed suit on behalf of refugees who were in the final stages of resettlement and blocked from U.S. entry. A district court order sided with them last year and the ban was lifted. Mevlüde Akay Alp is a senior staff attorney with International Refugee Assistance Project, one of the groups filing suit.

“That was an incredible moment for many refugees who were on the verge of being resettled in the United States, because it required the government to re-open refugee processing,” Akay Alp said.

The new ruling reverses that order, she says, leaving over 100,000 new refugees blocked once again. A second portion of the appeals court order requires the Trump administration to keep funding services for refugees already in the United States.