100,000 visas reportedly revoked in wake of travel ban
U.S. District Senior Judge James Robart of Seattle has issued a nationwide restraining order blocking the travel ban put in place by President Trump. The decision comes shortly after a judge out of Boston ruled in favor of Trump"s ban. USA TODAY NETWORK
Patrick Wicklund, from Seattle, stands outside the U.S. District Court, Western Washington, on Feb. 3, 2017 in Seattle, Wash.(Photo: Karen Ducey, Getty Images)
The federal government, honoring a court order, began dismantlingpresident trump"s travel ban Saturdayeven as the president derided the ruling as "ridiculous."
U.S. District Senior Judge James Robartissued the temporary restraining orderFriday night thatimmediately lifted the ban that sought to block people from seven majority-Muslim countries,or any refugees,from entering the country.
The State Department said it was restoring tens of thousands of canceled visas for foreigners while the Department of Homeland Security "suspended all actions" for enforcing the ban and instead began standard inspection of travelers.
With legal challenges pending, two prominent Middle Eastern air carriers,Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways, national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, said U.S.-bound travelers from those countries with valid visas would be allowed to board.Air France, British Airways, Egyptair, Emirates Airlines, KLM, and Lufthansa also notified affected passengers about the change.
Government-backed Qatar Airways is one of a few Mideast airlines operating direct daily flights to multiple American cities. Its U.S. destinations from its Doha hub include New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and Washington.
President Trump, in a Saturday morning tweetstorm, disparaged the judge"s credentials and thenationwide temporary restraining order.
"The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!" Trump tweeted from the Winter White House in Mar-a-Lago.
"When a country is no longer able to say who can, and who cannot, come in & out, especially for reasons of safety &.security - big trouble!" he wrote.
In issuing his decision, Robart sidedwith Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who filed a suit to block key provisions of the president"s executive order, whichsought to block people from seven majority-Muslim countries, or any refugees, from entering the country.
Even before the president"s comments, the White House saidthe federal government would challenge the judge"s decision.
Justice Departmentattorneys defending the executive order highlight the presidents broad legal authority to restrict entry of immigrants when deemed in the national interest of the United States, citing congressional authority in the Immigration and Nationality Act.
In this case, the federal attorneys argue the purpose of the executive order is intended to protect the American people from terrorist attacks by foreign nationals.
Trumps executive order, signed Jan. 27, suspendedthe entry of all refugees to the U.S. for 120 days, haltedadmission of refugees from Syria indefinitely and barredentry for three months to residents from the predominantly Muslim countries of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.
The ACLU and other advocacy groups had been workingto extend a temporary stay on the order issued last week after it sparked chaos and protests at airports across the country. On Saturday, such groups wereurgingtravelers caught in limbo to act quickly.
"We encourage all U.S. visa holders who have been affected by the order to travel to the United States as soon as possible, while the stay is in place," said Becca Heller, director of the International Refugee Assistance Project in New York.
Clare Kane, a law student intern at the Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization at the Yale Law School, noting that the Trump administration vowed to appeal the ruling, said "people should get on planes as soon as possible to reunite with their families, to access potentially life-saving healthcare, to flee life-threatening situations abroad, or to come home to their lives in the United States.
In Washington state, Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, hailed Ferguson and applauded the decision.
"We should feel heartened by today"s victory and more resolute than ever that we are fighting on the right side of history," the governor said in a statement. "Thank you to (Attorney General Bob Ferguson) and his team for making the case that no person - not even the president - is above the law."
Amnesty International also applauded the development.
"This decision is a short-term relief for thousands of people whose lives have been upended, but Congress must step in and block this unlawful ban for good," organization spokesman Eric Ferrero said in a statement. "Trump"s Muslim ban is inhumane, unlawful, and discriminatory, which is why the courts and the public want it to be stopped."
Ferguson said his team had been working around-the-clock for the last week on reversing the executive order.
"It"s obviously an historic decision and an important one for the rule of law and for the people of the state of Washington and the people of our country," Ferguson said. "I have said from the beginning: it is not the loudest voice that prevails in the courtroom, it is the Constitution, and that"s what we heard from Judge Robart today."
People hold candles during a vigil at Thanksgiving Square in downtown Dallas on Jan. 30, 2017. People gathered to protest against President Donald Trump"s executive order temporarily banning immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. and suspending the nation"s refugee program.(Photo: LM Otero, AP)
A lawyer with the national office of theAmerican Civil Liberties Unionsaid the decision was significant.
"The decision in Washington reaffirms that the courts will stand up to the president," said Lee Gelernt, the lawyer who successfully argued for the stayagainst Trump"s ban in federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y., last week.
"The courts have and will continue to recognize that this executive order favors Christians and disfavors Muslims and that is antithetical to American values and flatly inconsistent with the United States Constitution."
Word of the decision came shortly after revelations about an earlier decision by U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton out of Boston, who refused to extend a temporary order that allowed some people affected by Trump"s ban to enter the country.Gorton ruled that the ACLU failed to demonstrate a need for an ongoing restraining order, theBoston Globereported.
Contributing: Melanie Eversley
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Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2017/02/04/trump-blasts-so-called-federal-judges-block-travel-ban/97484556/
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