Refugee aid groups said in a federal court filing Thursday that President Donald Trump’s administration appears to be trying to circumvent a ruling this week that blocked his efforts to suspend the nation’s refugee admissions program.
Whitehead, a 2023 appointee of former President Joe Biden, said Trump’s actions amounted to an “effective nullification of congressional will,” and from the bench, he granted the aid groups’ request for a preliminary injunction blocking Trump’s executive order suspending the refugee resettlement program.
Trump's order and the administration's subsequent withholding of funds stranded refugees who had already been approved to come to the U.S., forced the refugee aid groups to lay off staff, and cut off short-term assistance, such as rent, for those who had recently resettled here, the organizations said in the lawsuit challenging the actions.
“Defendants are continuing to implement their defunding of the USRAP, and an emergency hearing is necessary to ensure that Defendants are not permitted to evade this Court’s bench ruling and the forthcoming written order with antics designed to confuse the state of play,” the motion said.
Thursday's filing came the day after the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to block another court order requiring it to release billions in suspended foreign aid.
