Updated 9.15am
A US COURT has denied the Justice Department’s request for an immediate reinstatement of Donald Trump’s travel ban.
On Friday, a federal judge in Washington state put a temporary stay on the measures pending a wider legal review, prompting government agencies and global airlines to cease enforcing the ban.
Late last night, the Justice Department filed its motion to appeal. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has now asked both the state of Washington and the Trump administration to file more arguments by tomorrow afternoon.
The higher court’s denial of an immediate stay means legal battles over the ban will continue into the coming week at least.
Acting Solicitor General Noel Francisco forcefully argued in the government’s brief last night that presidential authority is “largely immune from judicial control” when it comes to deciding who can enter or stay in the United States.
‘We will win’
Trump responded to the decision yesterday by criticising the “so-called judge”.
In the evening, he posted: “The judge opens up our country to potential terrorists and others that do not have our best interests at heart. Bad people are very happy!”
Speaking to reporters, about the appeal, he said: “We’ll win. For the safety of the country,
However, government authorities had already begun complying with the lower court judge’s ruling yesterday, reopening the borders to those with proper travel documents.
The State Department told visa holders from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen that they are again allowed to travel as long as the documents had not been “physically cancelled.”
The department earlier said up to 60,000 people had their visas revoked as a result of Trump’s order, although a Justice Department lawyer put the number at closer to 100,000.
The Department of Homeland Security — which runs border agencies — also said it would cease implementing the order.
‘Contemptuous’
The restrictions on all refugees and travellers from the seven countries went into effect a week ago, wreaking havoc at airports across America and leaving travellers trying to reach the United States in limbo.
The political backlash for Trump has been equally severe, with the order fueling numerous mass protests and White House infighting.
In Washington, hundreds of demonstrators marched from the White House to Capitol Hill, chanting “Donald, Donald, can’t you see — we don’t want you in DC!”
About 3,000 people rallied in New York, while an estimated 10,000 people turned out in London, and smaller gatherings took place in Paris, Berlin, Stockholm and Barcelona.
Trump was forced to defend a botched rollout of the plan — which called his government’s competence into question — and fired the acting attorney general for refusing to defend the order in court.
His approval rating has sunk to the lowest level on record for any new president.
His latest rhetorical outburst is only likely to stoke the controversy.
Presidents from Thomas Jefferson to Barack Obama have criticized court rulings, but have rarely, if ever, criticized individual judges.
“I can’t think of anything like it in the past century and a half at least,” constitutional scholar and Harvard Law professor Laurence Tribe told AFP.
“It’s not exactly contempt of court, but it certainly is contemptuous,” said Tribe, who taught two sitting Supreme Court justices as well as Obama — whom he later advised.
“It conveys a lack of respect for the independent judiciary that bodes ill for the country’s future as long as Trump occupies the presidency,” Tribe said.
- © AFP 2017 with reporting from Associated Press.
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