President Donald Trump made headlines in January when he signed an executive order that suspended refugee resettlement operations.

However, Trump's administration was blindsided earlier this week when a federal judge ordered it to take in roughly 12,000 refugees. 

Judge: "The Government is not free to disobey statutory and constitutional law"

According to Breitbart, that decision came on Monday from Judge Jamal Whitehead, who was appointed to the Western District of Washington two years ago by President Joe Biden.

"This Court will not entertain the Government’s result-oriented rewriting of a judicial order that clearly says what it says," Whitehead wrote in his opinion.

Biden Judge Jamal Whitehead of Seattle has ordered President Trump to admit ~12,000 refugees into the country. pic.twitter.com/IdVtXO6l9d

— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) May 6, 2025

Whitehead then acknowledged that "[t]he Government is free, of course, to seek further clarification from the Ninth Circuit."

"But the Government is not free to disobey statutory and constitutional law—and the direct orders of this Court and the Ninth Circuit—while it seeks such clarification," the judge insisted.

Whitehouse previously ruled against Trump administration in refugee case

"The Government’s obligation to process, admit, and provide statutorily mandated resettlement support services to the Injunction-Protected Refugees is immediate," Whitehead declared.

"Likewise, the Government’s obligation to restore funding, information, and operational support to its USRAP partners as necessary to process, admit, and provide resettlement services to these individuals is also immediate," the judge concluded.

Whitehead's order came after he previously ruled against the White House in a lawsuit which had been brought by a number of community groups and several refugees from Iraq and Afghanistan.

As NBC News reported, Whitehead asserted that "[t]he president has substantial discretion to suspend refugee admissions. But that authority is not limitless."

Judge alleged that White House violated "bedrock principles of administrative law"

"He cannot ignore Congress’ detailed framework for refugee admissions and the limits it places on the president’s ability to suspend the same," Whitehead continued.

NBC News noted how Whitehead pointed to the halt in admissions along with staff reductions at refugee agencies and the indefinite suspension of family reunification.

He said that taken together, these moves appeared to be an "effective nullification of congressional will" while the implementation of Trump's order likely "violates bedrock principles of administrative law."

As he drew to a close, the Biden appointee declared that his injunction was necessary as "our system of separated powers demands no less."