Court Partially Blocks Trump's Refugee Ban

The Trump administration can stop new refugee approvals but must allow conditionally accepted refugees, per an appeals court. The ruling narrowed a Seattle judge's decision for programme reinstatement. Critics argue Trump's order harms services for refugees, but the justice department claims authority.

An appeals court has ruled that while the Trump administration can halt the approval of new refugees into the United States, it must still allow those who were conditionally accepted before President Trump's suspension of the refugee admissions program.

The decision comes after a narrowing of a ruling by a federal judge in Seattle, who had initially found that the program should be fully restarted. However, the three-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that the president does possess the authority to limit entry into the country. They cited a 2018 Supreme Court ruling that supported Trump's travel ban from several predominantly Muslim nations.

This decision was made following an emergency appeal of a ruling by US district judge Jamal Whitehead. Whitehead had argued that the president's power to suspend admissions is not absolute and highlighted cases of refugees in perilous conditions, separated families, and individuals whose journeys were abruptly canceled, underscoring the human impact of migration policy.

(With inputs from agencies.)