” In a footnote, the court refers to findings from an amicus curiae brief submitted by former national security officials that “[r]efugees receive the most thorough vetting of all travelers to the United States in a process that takes eighteen to twenty-four months.” As to Section 6 (b), which restricts the entry of refugees to no more than 50,000 in fiscal year 2017, the court cites 8 U.S.C. §1157(a)(2): [T]he number of refugees who may be admitted under this section in any fiscal year . . . shall be such number as the President determines, before the beginning of the fiscal year and after appropriate consultation, is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest. The Ninth Circuit explains that this statute prescribed “specific actions the President must take before setting the number of refugees”—actions President Trump did not follow.

Section 8 U.S.C. 1157 of the U.S. Code grants employment authorization for eligible individuals awarded refugee status, stating in part that these individuals “ … shall be eligible for resettlement assistance, entitlement programs and other benefits available to refugees admitted under section 207 of Immigration and Nationality Act.” These refugees granted employment authorization (i.e., are employment-eligible “incident to status”) will still need to apply for the employment authorization document (EAD) but will not be charged a fee for the initial application. Under this section, refugees are granted work authorization for the first 90 days upon presenting acceptable I-9 documentation of their choice.Parolees—non-citizens granted permission to enter or remain temporarily in the United States—are not provided the same classification as refugees and thus, not awarded the same treatment. Generally, they are not employment-authorized incident to their “parolee” status. Congress recently carved out an excepti