A federal judge in Seattle on Tuesday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s halt of the country’s refugee resettlement program and freezing of funding for agencies that support refugees.

U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead swiftly granted a preliminary injunction, which blocks Trump’s executive order from taking effect until the court case ends, or until it is overruled by a higher court.

The president’s executive order likely violates the Refugee Act of 1980, the Administrative Procedure Act and the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause, Whitehead said to a full courtroom in downtown Seattle.

Trump halted the country’s refugee resettlement program on his first day in office as part of a series of executive orders cracking down on immigration, barring refugees from coming into the country and halting refugee application processing indefinitely.

In his executive order, he stated the entry of refugees under the program is “detrimental to the interests of the United States.” Federal funding for resettlement agencies was also frozen later that week, leaving organizations scrambling to pay for basic necessities for those already in the United States and to cover their own payrolls.

Lutheran Community Services Northwest, a Tacoma, Washington-based resettlement agency, was one of three faith-based agencies that sued Feb. 10 to challenge the program’s freeze and to restore federal funding, arguing Trump had exceeded his statutory authority.

National resettlement agencies Church World Service and HIAS, a Jewish group aiding refugees and potential refugees, are also plaintiffs in the suit, as well as nine people impacted by the refugee ban and halt of federal funding.

Thousands of refugees who had already been cleared to resettle in the U.S. after fleeing war or persecution in their home countries — with plane tickets in hand — were suddenly stranded abroad and left in limbo when Trump’s refugee ban was announced.

In Washington alone, about 1,135 refugees had been approved to travel and resettle in the state over the coming weeks when Trump issued his order, according to the state’s Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance.

The lead plaintiff, referred to by the pseudonym Pacito, is a 22-year-old refugee from Congo who was approved to travel with his wife and baby but saw their Jan. 22 flight canceled after Trump’s executive order.

The family, which currently lives in Kenya, had sold nearly all their possessions save for what could fit in checked luggage, and ended a rental lease in preparation for the move to the U.S. The family is “devastated” by the travel cancellation, the lawsuit stated.

“They are struggling to find stable housing and employment, particularly since the plaintiff no longer has the equipment required to continue his work as a music producer,” the lawsuit stated.

The lawsuit and recent ruling is a rehash of similar legal battles that played out in Seattle in 2017, when the first Trump administration temporarily halted the country’s refugee resettlement program. That order did not suspend federal funding for agencies.

Then-Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson sued the Trump administration at the time, and a Seattle federal judge granted a temporary restraining order in that case. The ACLU of Washington also filed a class-action lawsuit challenging the refugee ban.

The blanket refugee ban was ultimately lifted, but the first Trump administration significantly restricted the number of refugees admitted and continued to target refugees from Muslim-majority countries. By the end of his first term, he had capped the number of refugees admitted to 15,000, the lowest number in the more than 40-year history of the program.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops also sued in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 18 to release suddenly halted funds. Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden denied the request for a temporary restraining order last week.

Refugees must prove they face persecution in their home countries and are among the most vetted immigrants into the United States. They are not coming to the U.S. for economic reasons. The process often takes years, including interviews, background checks, health screenings and more, before they receive clearance to enter the country.

Refugees are distinct from people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border seeking asylum. Refugees must be living outside of the U.S. to be considered for resettlement and are usually referred to the U.S. State Department by the United Nations. Asylum-seeking, a human right protected under U.S. law for decades, was also sharply curtailed by the Trump administration during his first week back in office.

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(Material from The Seattle Times archives was used in this report.)

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