Court Unanimously Upholds Freeze on Travel Ban

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Summary: The federal appeals court did rule in favor of Trump’s executive order, continuing the hold on the travel ban.

Donald Trump’s first big move as President of the United States has been stopped with the federal appeals court upholding a Seattle judge’s block on his travel ban executive order. The three judges in San Francisco voted unanimously to keep the ban blocked.

  

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The Justice Department said it is “reviewing the decision and considering its options.” They can choose to ask the Supreme Court to take the case. Trump is apparently ready for the case to go on, tweeting “SEE YOU IN COURT.”

The executive order was intended to halt immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen from entering the country for 90-days while the vetting system was reexamined. The order would also have imposed a 120-day halt to all refugees and an indefinite pause on Syrian refugees.

Seattle federal judge James Robart placed a restraining order on the order when Washington sued, calling the order unconstitutional and and claiming it damaged the citizens of Washington State. Minnesota also sued. The basis for the Justice Department’s appeal to Robart’s ruling centered on the belief that the president’s executive power gives him authority to put restriction on who comes into the country.

The federal appeals court disagreed, stating, “In short, although courts owe considerable deference to the President’s policy determinations with respect to immigration and national security, it is beyond question that the federal judiciary retains the authority to adjudicate constitutional challenges to executive action.”

Trump signed the order with the intention of protecting the country for terrorists trying to infiltrate the United States coming from terror hotspots. Those who opposed the ban called it a “Muslim ban” that was unconstitutional, discriminatory, and harmful to individuals and businesses.

The biggest flaw in the order, which the court pointed out was, “The Government has not offered any evidence or even an explanation of how the national security concerns that justified those designations, which triggered visa requirements, can be extrapolated to justify an urgent need for the Executive Order to be immediately reinstated.”

The other option the administration has is to ask a larger panel of judges to hear the appeal or to go back the Seattle and block the next legal step – granting the states’ request for a preliminary injunction.

What move do you think the Justice Department will take next? Tell us in the comments below.

To learn more about the travel ban, read these articles:

• Appeals Hearing on Travel Ban Filled with Bickering
• Trump’s Travel Ban Heads to a Federal Appeals Court
• At Least 60,000 Travelers Affected By Travel Ban

Photo: flickr.com