A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that President Trump has the legal power to indefinitely suspend the U.S. refugee resettlement program. The decision overturned most of a Seattle judge’s injunctions that had blocked Trump’s refugee admission freeze.

A federal appeals court delivered a significant victory to President Trump on Thursday, determining he possesses the legal authority to halt refugee admissions to the United States for an indefinite period.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, through a three-judge panel, reversed most of the court orders issued by a Seattle federal judge last year that had prevented the suspension of refugee resettlement activities.

Following his inauguration in January 2025, Trump immediately froze the refugee program, stating that the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program needed to guarantee that incoming refugees would “appropriately assimilate.” This action prompted a class-action legal challenge from refugees, their relatives, and organizations that assist with resettlement.

Senior U.S. Circuit Judge Jay Bybee, who authored the panel’s opinion, acknowledged the “enormous practical implications” of the court’s decision to reverse the majority of rulings made by U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead, whose pro-plaintiff decisions had been temporarily suspended during the appeals process.

“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,” Bybee noted in his written opinion.

However, Bybee, along with his fellow appellate judges who were all nominated by Republican presidents, explained that Congress had provided the president with extensive authority to halt immigrant entry.

“Whether that consequence reflects prudent policy is not a question for this court,” Bybee stated.

Attorney Mevlude Akay Alp, representing the plaintiffs through the International Refugee Assistance Project, responded with a statement criticizing the decision, saying it “removes the ability for refugees stranded by the refugee ban to be safely resettled, or even have their cases processed, while President Trump’s cruel ban continues.”

The White House has not provided a response to requests for comment on the ruling.

Although the appellate court reversed most of Whitehead’s decisions, it maintained certain injunctions by a 2-1 margin, specifically those preventing the elimination of services for refugees already in the United States and the cancellation of agreements with resettlement support facilities.

U.S. Circuit Judge Kenneth Lee, who was appointed during Trump’s previous term, issued a partial dissent, arguing for the complete reversal of all injunctions issued by Whitehead, who was nominated by former Democratic President Joe Biden.

“District courts cannot stand athwart, yelling ‘stop’ just because they genuinely believe they are the last refuge against policies that they deem to be deeply unwise,” Lee wrote in his dissenting opinion.