U.S. appeals ruling against Trump's revised travel ban to higher court

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http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-appeal-idUSKBN16O2MT


The U.S. government took the legal battle over President Donald Trump's travel ban to a higher court on Friday, saying it would appeal a federal judge's decision that struck down parts of the ban on the day it was set to go into effect.

The Department of Justice said in a court filing it would appeal a ruling by U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia.

Chuang on Thursday issued an emergency halt to the portion of Trump's March 6 executive order temporarily banning the entry of travelers from six Muslim-majority countries. He left in place the section of the order that barred the entry of refugees to the United States for four months.

Another federal judge in Hawaii struck down both sections of the ban in a broader court ruling that prevented Trump's order from moving forward.

The decisions came in response to lawsuits brought by states' attorneys general in Hawaii and refugee resettlement agencies in Maryland who were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Center. Detractors argue the ban discriminated against Muslims in violation of the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of religious freedom.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said at a press briefing the government would "vigorously defend this executive order" and appeal the "flawed rulings."

He said the plan was to appeal at the 4th Circuit first and then seek clarification of Hawaii's ruling before appealing to the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

The 9th Circuit court last month upheld a decision that halted an original, more sweeping travel ban signed by the President on Jan. 27. The new executive order was reissued with the intention of overcoming the legal concerns.

Trump has vowed to take the fight all the way to U.S. Supreme Court.

 

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http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-appeal-idUSKBN16O2MT


The U.S. government took the legal battle over President Donald Trump's travel ban to a higher court on Friday, saying it would appeal a federal judge's decision that struck down parts of the ban on the day it was set to go into effect.

The Department of Justice said in a court filing it would appeal a ruling by U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia.

Chuang on Thursday issued an emergency halt to the portion of Trump's March 6 executive order temporarily banning the entry of travelers from six Muslim-majority countries. He left in place the section of the order that barred the entry of refugees to the United States for four months.

Another federal judge in Hawaii struck down both sections of the ban in a broader court ruling that prevented Trump's order from moving forward.

The decisions came in response to lawsuits brought by states' attorneys general in Hawaii and refugee resettlement agencies in Maryland who were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Center. Detractors argue the ban discriminated against Muslims in violation of the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of religious freedom.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said at a press briefing the government would "vigorously defend this executive order" and appeal the "flawed rulings."

He said the plan was to appeal at the 4th Circuit first and then seek clarification of Hawaii's ruling before appealing to the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

The 9th Circuit court last month upheld a decision that halted an original, more sweeping travel ban signed by the President on Jan. 27. The new executive order was reissued with the intention of overcoming the legal concerns.

Trump has vowed to take the fight all the way to U.S. Supreme Court.

What is happening in the courts right now goes beyond any debate over a “ban” on Muslim immigration. The courts have essentially denied the President of his plenary power over setting the refugee cap, which Trump applied evenly to every country included in his new executive order.

Obviously, all the national security problems we have are from predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East. But let’s put that aside for a moment. Even if this was a ban on Muslim immigration,(it's not) it would still be legal. That is settled law of a sovereign nation state, and the President's power to protect this country from unvetted refugees.

Let’s also ignore political considerations for a moment. From a legal standpoint, a nation can set any criteria for letting in any group of people. Through our elected representatives, we can decide to only bring in people with brown hair if we so choose.

We can shut off immigration to those with green eyes or even those who are left-handed. The prudence of such a law would have to be dealt with on a political level which the people would decide by their votes. Any legal limitation placed on our sovereignty, by definition, means we are not a sovereign nation and that foreign nationals can forcibly control our destiny. That is not only dangerous, but unconstitutional.

That cannot stand, and the courts do not have this much constitutional control over setting our Foreign policy. This injunction will be overturned, as it should be. Trump will win once again.