The ruling could help more than 24,000 refugees already vetted and approved by the United States but barred by the 120-day freeze on refugee admissions.<\/b>
\nWASHINGTON \u2014 The Trump administration is seeking to close a legal window opened for tens of thousands of refugees to enter the United States, appealing a federal judge\u2019s order directly to the Supreme Court.
U. S. District Judge Derrick Watson had ordered the government to allow in refugees formally working with a resettlement agency in the United States. His order also vastly expanded the list of U. S. family relationships that refugees and visitors from six Muslim-majority countries can use to get into the country, including grandparents and grandchildren.
In its appeal Friday night, the Justice Department said Watson\u2019s interpretation of the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling on what family relationships qualify refugees and visitors from the six Muslim-majority countries to enter the U. S. \u201cempties the court\u2019s decision of meaning, as it encompasses not just \u2018close\u2019 family members, but virtually all family members. Treating all of these relationships as \u2018close familial relationship (s)\u2019 reads the term \u2018close\u2019 out of the Court\u2019s decision.\u201d
Only the Supreme Court can decide these issues surrounding the travel ban, the Justice Department said. \u201cOnly this Court can definitively settle whether the government\u2019s reasonable implementation is consistent with this Court\u2019s stay, \u201d it said.
On Saturday, the U. S. Justice Department asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to put Watson\u2019s ruling on hold while the Supreme Court considers its appeal.
The long, tangled legal fight is expected to culminate with arguments before the nation\u2019s high court in October.
Watson\u2019s ruling could help more than 24,000 refugees already vetted and approved by the United States but barred by the 120-day freeze on refugee admissions, said Becca Heller, director of the International Refugee Assistance Project, a resettlement agency.
\u201cMany of them had already sold all of their belongings to start their new lives in safety, \u201d she said. \u201cThis decision gives back hope to so many who would otherwise be stranded indefinitely.\u201d
Citing a need to review its vetting process to ensure national security, the administration capped refugee admissions at 50,000 for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, a ceiling it hit this week.
The federal budget can accommodate up to 75,000 refugees, but admissions have slowed under Trump, and the government could hold them to a trickle, resettlement agencies say.
\u201cAbsolutely this is good news for refugees, but there\u2019s a lot of uncertainty, \u201d said Melanie Nezer, spokeswoman for HIAS, a resettlement agency.
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