A Biden Appointed District Judge Has Hijacked POTUS Control Of A Refugee Program -- He Says He Knows Better What Congress Wanted

Another effort by the Biden-Appointed Imperial Judiciary to Control the Executive when Changes by the Trump Administration Upset Expectations.

On February 25, 2025, a District Judge in Seattle granted a Preliminary Injunction halting the enforcement of an Executive Order suspending a refugee admissions program created by Congress. He characterized the action taken by Pres. Trump as follows:

Hours into his second term, President Trump issued Order 14163, “direct[ing] that entry into the United States of refugees under the [United States Refugee Assistance Program (USRAP)] be suspended” indefinitely pending a determination by the President that “resumption of entry of refugees into the United States under the USRAP would be in the interests of the United States.”

This particular program did not involve providing housing or other assistance to illegal aliens coming into the country as a result of the Biden Administration’s “open border” policy. The refugee program in question was created by Congress in the Refugee Act of 1980 and involves a formal application process to be granted “refugee” status, which then provides access to various federal and state resettlement programs those who are lawfully admitted as recognized “refugees” from their home countries.

In suspending the program via an Executive Order, President Trump cited his authority to do so under 8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and 1185(a), part of the statutory framework whereby Congress created the program.