A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that President Donald Trump holds the authority to indefinitely suspend admissions under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. The decision largely overturned preliminary injunctions issued last year by U.S. District Judge Jamal N. Whitehead in Seattle, who had blocked Trump's executive order suspending refugee processing and admissions.

Senior Circuit Judge Jay Bybee, writing for the majority, affirmed that the 1980 Refugee Act grants the president broad power to suspend entry of refugees, finding no mandate for non-zero admissions levels. The panel, which included judges appointed by Republican presidents, upheld on a 2-1 vote narrower injunctions requiring continued federal funding and services for refugees already resettled in the United States, as well as preservation of cooperative agreements with resettlement agencies. Circuit Judge Kenneth Lee partially dissented, arguing to vacate all injunctions.

Trump signed Executive Order 14163, "Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program," on January 20, 2025, hours after his inauguration. The order halted all refugee admissions and processing indefinitely, citing the need to ensure refugees would "appropriately assimilate" and protect U.S. interests amid concerns over capacity to absorb migrants. The move followed a fiscal year 2025 cap of 7,500 admissions set by Trump, the lowest since 1980, primarily allocated to Afrikaners from South Africa.

The policy prompted the class-action lawsuit Pacito v. Trump, filed in February 2025 by refugees, family members, and organizations including Church World Service, HIAS, and Lutheran Community Services Northwest. Plaintiffs argued the suspension violated the Refugee Act and dismantled the program unlawfully. Before the ruling, the 9th Circuit had stayed most of Whitehead's injunctions in September 2025, allowing a temporary pause except for placement services, under which 77 refugees were admitted.

Bybee acknowledged the ruling's weight: "There are over one hundred thousand vetted and conditionally approved refugees, many of whom may have spent years completing the USRAP process in a third country only to be turned away on the tarmac." He added, "Whether that consequence reflects prudent policy is not a question for this court." A Justice Department spokesperson stated the decision "reaffirms that activist district court judges cannot usurp the power of the president to protect the American people and set refugee policy."

Mevlüde Akay Alp, a senior litigation attorney for the plaintiffs at the International Refugee Assistance Project, called the outcome "deeply disappointing," saying it "cut the lifeline provided by the district court's previous order for clients like Pacito and many others to reach safety." David Duea, CEO of Lutheran Community Services Northwest, described it as a blow to families who "followed every rule, checked every box and waited years."

The suspension stranded more than 128,000 conditionally approved refugees abroad, including cases like plaintiff Pacito from the Democratic Republic of Congo, whose family sheltered in a Nairobi embassy parking lot after travel cancellations. Unlike asylum seekers at the border, refugees undergo multi-year vetting abroad, often referred by the United Nations. Under prior President Joe Biden, the fiscal 2025 cap stood at 125,000. Trump's first term saw similar temporary halts in 2017, rebuilt under Biden.