Judge partially lifts travel ban on refugees
SEATTLE — After hearing heartbreaking stories of refugees who have struggled to reconnect with their families and listening to the plight of others who strive to leave dangerous situations, a federal judge said he would try to issue a ruling on a motion to block a Trump administration ban on refugees early this week.
Late on the day before Christmas Eve, U.S. District Judge James Robart released a 65-page order that gave relief to both groups: He granted a nationwide injunction that blocks the administration’s restrictions on the process of reuniting refugee families and partially lifted a ban on refugees from 11 mostly Muslim countries.
Robart limited that part of the injunction to refugees who have a bona fide relationship with people or entities in the U.S., but said refugees who have formal agreements with refugee resettlement agencies or humanitarian organizations constitutes such a relationship.
“At stake in this decision is a question particularly poignant around the holidays — family reunification,” said Mary Fan, a professor at the University of Washington Law School.
President Trump restarted the refugee program in October “with enhanced vetting capabilities.” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke and Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats also wrote a memo that specified the categories of the refugees who should be banned.
The new executive order banned entry of spouses and minor children of refugees who have already settled in the U.S., referred to as “follow-to-join” refugees, and suspended the refugee program for people coming from 11 countries, nine of which are mostly Muslim.
About 2,500 refugees in the U.S. are able to reunite with their families through the “follow-to-join” process, Robart said.
The American Civil Liberties Union sued the administration on behalf of a Somali man, using the pseudonym Joseph Doe, who has spent years trying to bring his wife and children to his new home in Washington state. The ACLU case was consolidated with one filed by Jewish Family Service, which challenged the administration’s prohibition of refugees from certain countries until the vetting process could be reviewed.
Department of Justice lawyers argued in a hearing Thursday that the ban was a temporary and reasonable way for agencies to deal with gaps in the screening process. The restrictions were placed in the interest of national security, they said.
In issuing the injunction, Robart said the administration violated federal law by taking action and banning refugees from certain countries without going through the proper process.