Federal Judge Blocks Trump's Third Attempted Muslim Ban

The Trump Administraiton's third xenophobic attempt at a Muslim Ban came on September 24th via a proclamation banning travel to the U.S. from seven countries.  It sought to ban citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad and North Korea from entering the United States beginning this week on October 19th.

On Monday, a federal judge stepped in yet again:

A federal judge in Hawaii has partially blocked Trump's third attempt to restrict entry into the U.S. for citizens of certain countries....  The newest version of the travel ban was due to go into effect on Wednesday.

In his ruling, [Judge Derrick K.] Watson wrote that the third version of the ban, like those before it, "lacks sufficient findings that the entry of more than 150 million nationals from six specified countries would be 'detrimental to the interests of the United States,' " evidence that he says would be necessary for the ban to be enforceable.

As a result, he issued a temporary restraining order that will keep the ban from being enforced for six of the eight named countries — the six majority-Muslim nations. North Korea and Venezuela, which were added in the most recent version of the ban, are not affected by the ruling, and the restrictions on travel from those countries can go into effect.

This is by no means the last we'll hear on this topic:

The ruling in Hawaii v. Trump is the latest in the legal tug of war over Trump's attempt to impose a ban on travelers from predominantly Muslim nations.  And this temporary restraining order is far from the end of the story. The Department of Justice says it will appeal the decision, and another federal court is also expected to rule on the third version of the ban.

Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/10/17/558354914/federal-judge-in-hawaii-blocks-trumps-third-attempt-at-travel-ban 

Date: 
Wednesday, October 18, 2017