Hawaii judge now blocks revamped US travel ban

Honolulu, Thursday

Federal judges have halted Donald Trump’s revised executive order to temporarily close US borders to refugees and nationals from six Muslim-majority countries, dealing the president a humiliating defeat.

The rulings triggered a nationwide freeze on enforcement of a ban on entry by nationals of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days. They also halt a 120-day suspension of the US refugee admissions program.

Trump’s restrictions had been due to go into effect today. Yesterday, US District Judge Derrick Watson ruled that the state of Hawaii, in its legal challenge, had established a strong likelihood that the ban would cause “irreparable injury” were it to go ahead.

Earlier today in Maryland, US District Judge Theodore Chuang issued a similar nationwide injunction on a separate complaint filed by advocacy groups claiming that the amended order discriminates against Muslims.

Chuang ruled that the plaintiffs “are likely to prevail on the merits, that they are likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of injunctive relief and that the balance of the equities and the public interest favor an injunction.”

Trump vowed to fight the “flawed” ruling all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary, describing it as “unprecedented judicial overreach.”

“The law in the Constitution gave the president the power to suspend immigration when he deems it to be in the national interest of our country,” he said Wednesday in Nashville, Tennessee, adding: “We are going to win.”

However, the court in Honolulu indicated that it would not stay its decision in the event of an appeal, meaning the ban cannot go ahead as planned on Thursday regardless of any action the White House takes.

It was the first court to issue its ruling in a trio of legal challenges against the ban, which had been set to go into effect at midnight. Washington state’s attorney general, meanwhile, filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order that would last up to 14 days in order to halt the travel restrictions, also citing “irreparable injuries.”

The Trump administration’s wide-ranging initial travel restrictions imposed on January 27 were slapped down by the federal courts, after sparking a legal, political and logistical furor.

Trump signed a revised ban behind closed doors on March 6 with a reduced scope, exempting Iraqis and permanent US residents, but maintaining the temporary ban on the other six countries and refugees.

The White House said those six countries were targeted because their screening and information capabilities could not meet US security requirements.

Watson, however, rejected the White House claim that the order wasn’t a Muslim ban, ruling that it was plausible “to conclude that targeting these countries likewise targets Islam” given their Muslim populations ranging from 90.7 per cent to 99.8 per cent. — AFP

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