The United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), managed by the Department of Homeland Security in coordination with the Department of State, is the legal pathway for individuals recognized as refugees under the law to resettle in the United States. 

On January 20, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14163, suspending the USRAP and halting travel for all refugees, including thousands who had been vetted, approved, and, in many cases, had flights already booked to the United States.

Individuals affected by this policy reversal challenged the Executive Order, asking the court to stop its enforcement and highlighting the serious harm they are facing, including separation from their families, loss of legal status, and return to the dangerous conditions they were escaping.

On May 28, 2025, Democracy Forward, with co-counsel Refugee Council USA, filed an amicus brief urging the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold legal protections for refugees arbitrarily barred from resettlement in the United States under the Trump-Vance administration’s sweeping and unlawful refugee ban. 

The amicus brief highlights how the executive order has abandoned thousands of refugees — women at risk, unaccompanied children, and U.S. allies, including thousands of Afghans who helped the U.S. fight the Taliban. Some were days away from boarding flights, others are now facing continued threats of violence in their current host countries or deportation to the regimes they escaped.

The case is Pacito v. Trump et al.