The Future of Trump’s Travel Ban
More stories from Megan Elmore
Image obtained through Google Commons.
When President Donald Trump signed an Executive order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim majority countries, protests and uproar occurred across the nation. The ban was lifted on February 9 by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, when a federal judge ruled to overturn the executive order. It is still unknown what the Trump administration will do next.
The travel ban, entitled “Protection Of The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States,” was signed on Jan. 27. In the Executive order, anyone, including refugees, from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia were banned from entering the country for 120 days. When he signed the order at the Pentagon, Trump said that he was signing “to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America.”
After the signing, protests erupted at major airports across the United States. Over 2,000 people protested at JFK International Airport. Protesters assembled with handmade signs and chants, such as, “No hate. No fear. Refugees are welcome here.”
Although President Trump tweeted and Press Secretary Sean Spicer initially claimed that only 109 people were affected by the ban, the State Department confirmed that 60,000 people were affected.
After both Washington and Minnesota sued, U.S. District Judge James Robart, appointed by George W. Bush, in Seattle, Washington temporarily lifted the ban. The Justice Department then appealed the decision arguing that the president has the constitutional ability to place the ban.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the ban in a 3-0 decision Friday at the court in San Francisco, California. Presidents Trump’s reply on twitter was, “SEE YOU IN COURT. THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE.”
From here, the Trump administration has 16 days appeal to the full panel of judges at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals or they could appeal to the Supreme Court. Another option is for the administration to start another case at the district level based on the merits of the ban. For now, policy adviser Stephen Miller said on Meet the Press, “ The bottom line is that we are pursuing every single possible action to keep our country safe from terrorism.”
Sources:
http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/29/politics/us-immigration-protests/
http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/09/politics/travel-ban-9th-circuit-ruling-immigration/index.html
http://www.npr.org/2017/02/09/514399835/federal-appeals-court-upholds-stay-on-trumps-immigration-order