A federal appeals court has refused to reinstate US President Donald Trump’s ban on travellers from seven predominantly Muslim nations, dealing another blow to his young administration.
In a unanimous decision, the panel of three judges from the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals declined on Thursday to block a lower-court ruling that suspended the ban and allowed previously barred travellers to enter the US.
Shortly after the ruling, Trump responded furiously on Twitter, writing his response in capital letters.
He told reporters his administration ultimately would win the case and dismissed the ruling as “political.”
Trump’s January 27 order barred travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering for 90 days and all refugees for 120 days, except those from Syria, whom he would ban indefinitely. He said his directive was “done for the security of our nation, the security of our citizens.”
District Judge James Robart in Seattle issued a temporary restraining order on the ban on February 4 after Washington and Minnesota states sued, prompting Trump to label him a “so-called judge”.
The 9th Circuit judges noted that the states had raised serious allegations about religious discrimination.
Asked about Trump’s tweet, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson said: “We have seen him in court twice, and we’re two for two.”
An appeal to the Supreme Court is possible.
Aljazeera
