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Thanks to the 9th Circuit Court, Trump’s travel ban is toast… at least, for now.
Following nearly two weeks of vocal opposition, citizen protests and two temporary blocks by federal judges, a federal appeals court has ruled that an executive order that effectively banned citizens from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the US will not be reinstated.
Tonight’s unanimous ruling from a three-judge panel means that citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen will continue to be allowed to enter the US. Trump’s ban had prohibited citizens of these countries from entering the United States within a 90-day period, in addition to barring entry of all refugees for 120 days and putting an indefinite halt on the admission of Syrian refugees.
The controversial ban, which had come to be colloquially described as a “Muslim ban” because of the aforementioned Muslim majority populations of the seven countries it encompassed, was issued as an executive order by President Trump in late January.
The Justice Department is currently reviewing the court’s decision to revoke the ban. But Trump has already made clear his plan to take the issue to the Supreme Court, most recently on (where else?) Twitter:
SEE YOU IN COURT, THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2017
CNN reports: “On the one hand, the public has a powerful interest in national security and in the ability of an elected president to enact policies,” the judges wrote. “And on the other, the public also has an interest in free flow of travel, in avoiding separation of families, and in freedom from discrimination. We need not characterize the public interest more definitely than this… The emergency motion for a stay pending appeal is denied.”
This battle between the government’s executive and judiciary branches is certainly not over yet, and we’ll keep you posted on what’s to come. In the meantime, if you’re looking for a quick catch-up, here’s:
- A timeline of what went down in the first three days following the ban;
- A lawyer’s breakdown of what could happen moving forward;
- A breakdown of companies who have joined the legal fight against the ban.
(Photo via Michele Tantussi/Getty)
