A U.S. federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration cannot use its travel ban to prevent 80 already-vetted refugees from entering the United States, marking a significant setback for the policy.

In a decision issued late Monday, U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead in Seattle stated that President Donald Trump's June executive order — which restricted entry from 12 countries — does not apply to refugees seeking asylum.

“In other words, by its plain terms, the Proclamation excludes refugees from its scope,” the judge wrote.

Whitehead ruled that denying entry to refugees would undermine their ability to apply for asylum, contradicting the very language of the presidential order. He directed the government to immediately resume processing the 80 “presumptively protected refugees” who had been rejected under the travel ban.

The U.S. State Department has not issued a comment on the ruling.

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Whitehead also outlined a vetting framework for refugees from the 12 banned countries and others who were denied entry after the Trump administration suspended the U.S. refugee admissions program just hours after taking office on January 20.

This suspension had left thousands of refugees — many already cleared after years of security screening — stranded in various parts of the world. Among them were family members of active-duty U.S. military personnel and over 1,600 Afghans who supported American forces during the war.

Several refugees and aid organizations, whose funding was frozen by the administration, filed lawsuits. They later sought class-action status to extend the court’s ruling to similarly affected refugees.

In May, Judge Whitehead said the suspension likely nullified Congress’s intent, noting that Congress had created and funded the refugee admissions program. He issued a preliminary injunction in February, halting the administration’s suspension of refugee processing and aid.

However, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals paused much of that ruling in March, saying the administration was likely to prevail as the president holds broad authority over immigration decisions.