Today, the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, upheld the lower court ruling that blocks President Donald Trump’s administration from temporarily suspending new visas for people from the primarily Muslim countries of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
The Washington Post reported on Trump being handed another legal blow in his efforts to block the issuance of new visas to citizens of six Muslim majority countries.
An appeals court refused to reinstate Trump’s revised travel ban. The case will likely go to the Supreme Court. https://t.co/SpBZOPXN3s
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 25, 2017
Chief Circuit Judge Roger L. Gregory wrote in a majority opinion, joined in part by nine other judges:
“Congress granted the president broad power to deny entry to aliens, but that power is not absolute. It cannot go unchecked when, as here, the president wields it through an executive edict that stands to cause irreparable harm to individuals across this nation.”
The 4th Circuit declined to lift the Maryland federal judge’s original order, which ruled against the travel ban in March. Opponents of the ban assert that it violates the Constitution by intentionally singling out Muslims for discrimination. Today’s ruling leaves the injunction in place. This will allow citizens from Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Syria, and Yemen to continue to enter the United States.
The freeze on the travel ban would still have stayed in place even if the appeals court had sided with the Administration, Trump’s order is also being held because of a federal judge in Hawaii, whose opinion also is against the ban. The Justice Department appealed the Hawaii decision in oral arguments on May 15 at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.
During oral arguments, the 4th Circuit judges expressed misgivings about the viability of Trump’s order. It has been questioned – and disproved – whether there is a link between barring of citizens from Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Syria, and Yemen actually ensures national security.
#BREAKING: Appeals court upholds lower court's block of Trump travel ban https://t.co/ZUOtIG3ZKT pic.twitter.com/HpoTzYwZnQ
— The Hill (@thehill) May 25, 2017
The Justice Department does not want to address whether Trump’s order violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment in addition to the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Crucial to this case is the issue of whether courts should consider Trump’s past statements about wanting to bar Muslims from entering the country. Some of the judges on the appeals court were skeptical about the use of past statements by Trump.
Trump, not being one to learn a lesson easily, will likely appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Watch Trevor Noah’s take on the travel ban from the Daily Show (after the jump):
Featured Image: Screenshot Via YouTube Video.
