The Trump administration must allow refugees previously approved for resettlement in the United States to enter the country – despite President Donald Trump”s efforts to suspend the program that made their relocation possible, a federal judge has ruled.

A 23-page ruling from Seattle-based U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead on Monday paves the way for 80 refugees to gain entry into the U.S. Thousands more could qualify for resettlement, but their cases must be considered one by one.

The plaintiffs in the case, led by a Congolese refugee identified only by the pseudonym “Pacito,” have sued over Trump’s effort to suspend the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). The plaintiffs say that Trump has violated the 1980 Refugee Act, which is part of the broader Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). This federal law “sets out detailed policies and procedures” that make up the USRAP, according to the lawsuit, and the plaintiffs say portions of it are “statutorily mandated.”

The U.S. Western District of Washington judge granted an injunction in February halting Trump’s “dismantling” of the U.S. refugee resettlement system, finding that the effort did violate the decades-old law. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit largely stayed this order, narrowing protections only for refugees who – like Pacito – could show “a strong reliance” on the program prior to Jan. 20, the date of the executive order.

The plaintiffs have challenged the government’s application of Trump’s Proclamation 10949, issued in connection with Trump’s Executive Order 14161, “Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats.” That order bans the entry of citizens from countries including Sudan and Afghanistan, but as Whitehead noted, the accompanying proclamation states that “[n]othing in this proclamation shall be construed to limit the ability of an individual to seek … refugee status[.]”

The government, however, offered “a creative reading” of this “refugee carveout,” according to Whitehead, in which the Trump administration argues that “the Proclamation fully bars refugee entry while preserving only their ability to seek refugee status.”

The judge appeared perplexed by this line of thinking.

“[I]t runs counter to the plain text of the Proclamation,” Whitehead wrote. “Barring refugee entry, of course, limits an individual’s ability to seek refugee status.”

“[I]t is unclear how refugees from designated countries are supposed to obtain ‘refugee status’ upon admission if they are barred from admission in the first place,” he also wrote, adding that the government’s interpretation “renders the carveout a functional nullity.”

Whitehead then addresses a visa-related “rationale” from the Trump administration, which had taken the position that the vetting process for refugees from certain countries is “deficient.”

This “inadequate visa vetting” argument, the judge reasoned, “does not apply to refugees because refugees do not receive visas[.]”

The judge noted that, by the government’s own admission, refugees are subjected to even more rigorous review than other aspiring immigrants.

“[R]efugees are, in the words of the Departments of State, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services, ‘the most thoroughly screened and vetted group to enter the United States,'” the judge wrote.

The judge found that plaintiffs like Pacito are entitled to have their refugee applications moved forward, and he established a “framework” and a streamlined plan for doing so. Whitehead ordered that the government must “immediately resume processing” applications from people who are able to show that they took significant, possibly irreversible steps in reliance on the program. This includes applicants who had travel scheduled within 14 days of Jan. 20 — the date of the executive order — as well as unaccompanied minors and Afghan refugees who the plaintiffs said were required by the U.S. to relocate to a holding location in Qatar, where they do not have permission to stay long term.

According to Whitehead’s order, the Trump administration must resume processing these cases within 14 days — and if they aren’t processed, or if the government doesn’t challenge the refugee applicants’ status by that time, those particular plaintiffs will be automatically covered by the earlier injunction.

The government has also been tasked with determining the extent to which certain refugee applicants were affected by Trump’s executive order, with survey questions considering “key indicators including housing changes, employment termination, school withdrawal, sale of belongings, and medical decisions based on scheduled travel.”

The Trump administration must also keep those in each case – agreed upon by all parties to mean family units rather than an individual – informed about the criteria they must meet and the status of their application.

To help rule on the case-by-case determinations, Whitehead appointed U.S. Magistrate Judge Michelle Peterson to “closely review the parties’ filings” and determine whether an applicant “demonstrates a reliance interest comparable to Pacito.”

Whitehead, a Joe Biden appointee, was clear that he expected both the plaintiffs and the government to participate in the process he set forth.

“The Court expects all parties to implement this framework in good faith, recognizing that real families remain in limbo while these legal processes unfold,” he wrote. “Delays in implementation mean continued separation from safety for some of the world’s most vulnerable people.”