Summary: The Justice Department has started the process to file appeals against the holds preventing the executive order from being implemented.
The Trump administration is already moving forward in filing their appeal against a pair of judges holds on the executive order restricting travel from six countries. A federal judge in Maryland and Hawaii placed holds on the ban until a further ruling can be reached.
U.S. District Court Judge Theodore Chuang placed a hold on part of the executive order after a lawsuit was brought by refugee aid groups and foreign nationals. They argued that with Trump’s campaign record the executive order is discriminatory against Muslims. Chuang placed the hold only on the 90-day part of the order.
A Justice Department spokesperson said, “The Department of Justice strongly disagrees with the Maryland federal district court’s ruling, and looks forward to defending the President’s executive order seeking to protect our nation’s security.”
A federal judge in Hawaii issued a temporary restraining order against part of the travel ban. U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson’s temporary hold gives less time for the hold to be kept in place. Watson said he plans to set an expedited hearing to determine the next step. Chuang’s preliminary injunction will last through a trial.
A key part missing from the Hawaii lawsuit was the support from over 60 big tech companies. The legal brief filed in Hawaii only listed 58 Silicon Valley companies, 127 less than the similar brief filed a month ago. Companies like Apple Inc, Facebook Inc, Netflix Inc, eBay Inc, Twitter Inc, Intel Corp, Microsoft Corp, and Alphabet Inc’s Google appear to have backed away from the legal fight against the President.
The reasons for the lack of support do not necessarily mean the companies do not support the blockage of the travel ban. Box Inc said that although they did not sign the brief this time, there has been no change in their position. Companies have the opportunity to join the lawsuit as “friend-of-the-court” at the case moves through the courts. Uber Technologies Inc was in the process of adding their name.
Do you think these tech companies have more pressing things to deal with than taking the time to sign the brief? Tell us in the comments below.
To learn more about the travel ban, read these articles:
- Federal Judges Rule Against Trump’s Second Travel Ban
- Judges Agree to Hear Arguments Against New Travel Ban
- States Already Planning to Fight against New Travel Ban
Photo: wikipedia.org