Judge orders Trump admin to admit 12,000 refugees

The ruling, issued Monday by US District Judge Jamal Whitehead, rejected the administration's argument that only about 160 refugees needed to be admitted—specifically, those who had been scheduled to travel within two weeks of the January executive order that halted refugee admissions, reports the Associated Press.

Whitehead dismissed that position, stating, “the government’s interpretation is, to put it mildly, ‘interpretive jiggerypokery’ of the highest order.”

The decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by several refugee resettlement organizations, including Jewish group HIAS, Church World Service, Lutheran Community Services Northwest, and several individuals.

The plaintiffs had argued that many refugees were left in limbo after the order took effect, with some having already sold all their possessions and made arrangements to travel.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had earlier allowed the Trump administration to suspend refugee admissions, but said individuals who had already been granted refugee status and had confirmed travel plans could not be blocked.

The Trump administration interpreted this narrowly, suggesting the court’s intent was to allow only a very limited number of refugees.

Whitehead wrote that the appeals court “clearly says what it says” and did not impose the two-week restriction claimed by the administration.

“Had the Ninth Circuit intended to impose a two-week limitation — one that would reduce the protected population from about 12,000 to 160 individuals — it would have done so explicitly,” he wrote. “This Court will not entertain the government’s result-oriented rewriting of a judicial order.”

Whitehead had initially blocked the Trump executive order in February, arguing that it likely violated the Refugee Act of 1980. His ruling was later overruled by the 9th Circuit in March. The court left open a path for individuals with approved refugee status to still be admitted.