Trump travel ban: US judge blocks new executive order

A Federal judge in Hawaii has blocked President Donald Trump's new travel ban, hours before it was due to begin at midnight on Thursday. US District Judge Derrick Watson cited "questionable evidence" in the government's argument that the ban was a matter of national security. President Trump described the ruling as "unprecedented judicial overreach". The order would have placed a 90-day ban on people from six mainly Muslim nations and a 120-day ban on refugees. Mr Trump insists the move is to stop terrorists from entering the US but critics say it is discriminatory. An earlier version of the order, issued in late January, sparked confusion and protests, and was blocked by a judge in Seattle. Speaking at a rally in Nashville, Tennessee on Wednesday evening, Mr Trump said the ruling in Hawaii made the US "look weak". He said he would take the case "as far as it needs to go" including to the Supreme Court, adding: "We're going to win."
Donald Trump's first travel ban was suspended because it likely violated the due process rights of individuals with valid residency papers and visas. The battle over whether it imposed an unconstitutional religious test on certain immigrants was put off until another day. That day has arrived. In its decision, the federal court in Hawaii used Mr Trump's own words - and the words of his advisers - against him. The text of the executive order, Judge Derrick Watson held, could not be separated from the context of the recent presidential campaign, "Muslim ban" rhetoric and all. An order that discriminates against some Muslims, he continued, is just as legally deficient as one that discriminates against them all.
Now it's back to the drawing board for the Trump administration or - perhaps an even gloomier prospect - back to the Ninth Circuit court of appeals, which ruled against the president on the original ban just last month. After Mr Trump's previous adverse legal ruling, he angrily tweeted "We'll see you in court." Although it took a new travel order to get there, it turns out he was right.
After the ruling in Hawaii, the legal battle is now expected to move to the federal appeals circuit. Under the revised order, citizens of six countries on the original 27 January order - Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen - would once more be subject to a 90-day travel ban. Iraq was removed from the list because its government boosted visa screening and data sharing, White House officials said.
In his presidential campaign, Mr Trump vowed "a total and complete shutdown" of Muslim immigration to the US, and to implement a process of "extreme vetting" in order to prevent violent extremists from entering the US.
Source: BBC