Thread: TRUMP TRAVEL BAN HALTED: Hawaii judge grants restraining order

TRUMP TRAVEL BAN HALTED: Hawaii judge grants restraining order

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A federal judge in Hawaii has granted the state’s request for a temporary restraining order against Trump’s new executive order, which was to take effect Thursday.

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  2ND TRAVEL BAN HALTED
  Hawaii judge grants temporary restraining order
  
  
  
  • VIDEO: Hawaii sues to block new immigration travel ban
  • VIDEO: Trump immigration executive order faces fresh criticism
  
  
  

Federal judge in Hawaii puts Trump travel ban on hold

Published March 15, 2017 Associated Press


GREENBELT, Md. – Hours before it was to take effect, President Donald Trump's revised travel ban was put on hold Wednesday by a federal judge in Hawaii after hearing arguments that the executive order discriminates on the basis of nationality.

The ruling came as opponents renewed their legal challenges across the country, asking judges in three states to block the executive order that targets people from six predominantly Muslim countries.

More than half a dozen states are trying to stop the ban, and federal courts in Maryland, Washington state and Hawaii heard arguments about whether it should be put into practice early Thursday.

U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson decision prevents the executive order from going into effect, at least for now. Hawaii had requested a temporary restraining order.

Hawaii also argued that the ban would prevent residents from receiving visits from relatives in the six countries covered by the order. The state says the ban would harm its tourism industry and the ability to recruit foreign students and workers.

In Maryland, attorneys told a federal judge that the measure still discriminates against Muslims.

Government attorneys argued that the ban was revised substantially to address legal concerns, including the removal of an exemption for religious minorities from the affected countries.

"It doesn't say anything about religion. It doesn't draw any religious distinctions," said Jeffrey Wall, who argued for the Justice Department.

Attorneys for the ACLU and other groups said that Trump's statements on the campaign trail and statements from his advisers since he took office make clear that the intent of the ban is to ban Muslims. Trump policy adviser Stephen Miller has said the revised order was designed to have "the same basic policy outcome" as the first.

The new version of the ban details more of a national security rationale. It is narrower and eases some concerns about violating the due-process rights of travelers.

It applies only to new visas from Somalia, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Libya and Yemen and temporarily shuts down the U.S. refugee program. It does not apply to travelers who already have visas.

"Generally, courts defer on national security to the government," said U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang. "Do I need to conclude that the national security purpose is a sham and false?"

In response, ACLU attorney Omar Jadwat pointed to Miller's statement and said the government had put out misleading and contradictory information about whether banning travel from six specific countries would make the nation safer.

The Maryland lawsuit also argues that it's against federal law for the Trump administration to reduce the number of refugees allowed into the United States this year by more than half, from 110,000 to 50,000. Attorneys argued that if that aspect of the ban takes effect, 60,000 people would be stranded in war-torn countries with nowhere else to go.

In the Hawaii case, the federal government said there was no need to issue an emergency restraining order because Hawaii officials offered only "generalized allegations" of harm.

Jeffrey Wall of the Office of the Solicitor General challenged Hawaii's claim that the order violates due-process rights of Ismail Elshikh as a U.S. citizen who wants his mother-in-law to visit his family from Syria. He says courts have not extended due-process rights outside of a spousal relationship.

Neal Katyal, a Washington, D.C., attorney representing Hawaii, called the story of Elshiskh, an Egyptian immigrant and naturalized U.S. citizen, "the story of America."

Wall told the judge that if he is inclined to issue an injunction, it should be tailored specifically to Hawaii and not nationwide.

In Washington state, U.S. District Judge James Robart -- who halted the original ban last month -- heard arguments in a lawsuit brought by the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, which is making arguments similar to the ACLU's in the Maryland case.

Robart said he is most interested in two questions presented by the group's challenge to the ban: whether the ban violates federal immigration law, and whether the affected immigrants would be "irreparably harmed" should the ban go into effect.

He spent much of Wednesday afternoon's hearing grilling the lawyers about two seeming conflicting federal laws on immigration -- one which gives the president the authority to keep "any class of aliens" out of the country, and another that forbids the government from discriminating on the basis of nationality when it comes to issuing immigrant visas.

Robart said he would issue a written order, but he did not say when. He is also overseeing the challenge brought by Washington state.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson argues that the new order harms residents, universities and businesses, especially tech companies such as Washington state-based Microsoft and Amazon, which rely on foreign workers. California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Oregon have joined the claim.

Washington and Hawaii say the order also violates the First Amendment, which bars the government from favoring or disfavoring any religion. On that point, they say, the new ban is no different than the old. The states' First Amendment claim has not been resolved.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to reinstate the original ban but did not rule on the discrimination claim.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017...n-on-hold.html

LOWER THE REFUGEE PROGRAM TO ZERO PER YEAR. NO MORE PEOPLE.

Dispensing with judicial restraint, Judge Derrick Watson attacks 'logic' of White House

by Jim Stinson | 15 Mar 2017 at 9:30 PM

A federal judged blocked President Donald Trump’s new travel restrictions on six Muslim-majority nations, hours before the executive order was to take effect.

U.S. Judge Derrick Watson of the Hawaii federal district, appointed to the seat by former President Barack Obama, heard arguments on behalf of Hawaiian state government against the travel ban. He ruled early Wednesday evening.

The 43-page ruling accused Trump of discriminating against Muslims, which Watson said was obvious to a “reasonable, objective observer” who was “enlightened” by the facts.

The ruling puts a temporary hold on Trump’s revised order.

“This is a big step in the direction of crippling the government’s ability to control immigration,” said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies.

Krikorian said federal courts are headed in the direction of overriding the president’s ability to control immigration as allowed by federal statute. It’s long been a goal of immigration attorneys to make every immigration decision — every visa decision — appealable to the courts, Krikorian said.

The new travel restrictions would have frozen travel visas from six nations -- Syria, Yemen, Libya, Sudan, Somalia and Iran.

Iraq was on Trump's first order, but the central government complied with Trump's requests that they produce better documentation for travelers, according to Sean Spicer, White House press secretary.

The first executive order restricting travel from seven majority-Muslim nations became the Trump administration's first major crisis, as critics lit into the White House, accusing the president of issuing a "Muslim ban."

So on the second try, Trump and administration officials took a month, issuing a revised executive order. When it was unveiled on March 6, Trump made so sure to add heft to the announcement he didn't have on Jan. 27: he added Cabinet secretaries to the event.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly all showed up to talk up the new and improved executive order. The order was even delayed.

But Judge Watson said one of the reasons for his decision was a television interview with Stephen Miller, an aide to Trump, on Feb. 21.

"You're still going to have the same basic policy outcome," Miller said. Oddly, Watson cited the remark. Watson also cited former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's comments on Fox News that Trump asked for advice on a "Muslim ban."

Krikorian said Trump's new order never had a chance with liberal judges.

"It's not like tweaking the order was going to persuade [liberal judges]," said Krikorian. "They don't like the idea of the president keeping people out of the United States ... [Judges] are abusing their power ... They are ignoring the law."

Spicer has said repeatedly the U.S. code on Trump's right to restrict incoming travelers or refugees.


The federal law actually reads, "Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate."

Trump blasted the decision while at a Nashville, Tenn., rally on Wednesday. He called the decision "unprecedented judicial overreach."

"The order they blocked was a watered-down version of first one, which should have never been blocked to start with," Trump said. "We're going to fight this terrible ruling. We are going to take our case as far as it needs to go, including right up to the Supreme Court."

The ruling likely is the last straw for Trump, who decided not to defend the first executive order all the way through the courts. This time, Trump seems likely to follow through on his promise of going to the high court possible.

http://www.lifezette.com/polizette/o...ed-travel-ban/

I wouldn't go forward. I would stop the whole thing and let it die. Put the monkey on the backs of the courts. Instead, just do what you can do without them which is reduce the numbers, stop accepting money and applications, slow down the whole process, fire 20% of USCIS and increase the vetting.

Also, do not let USCIS collect these fees directly or spend it as they choose. Put all those fees into General Revenue and appropriate funding to USCIS through Congress. The present system is just an immigration for fees mill, worse than the worst puppy mill anywhere.

I agree Judy. Do what you can without them. Lower the numbers of those allowed in to Zero. Stop the Student Visa's, start working on ending the anchor baby scam. Deport every last one of them that we can. Extreme vetting and slow down all Visa's. Stop ALL funding to Churches and shut down their human trafficking ring.

Cut the freebies to all illegals and E-verify ALL government benefits. Change the public school Laws...no unauthorized non-citizens can attend any taxpayer funded schools or colleges.

Cut off the funding to the UN and give them a 30 day notice to get out of the USA.

Leftist Judge Produces 43 Page Decision Within 2 HOURS of Hearing State’s Request for Block on Trump Refugee Ban

Jim Hoft Mar 16th, 2017 11:31 am

THIS WAS ALL PLANNED WAY IN ADVANCE FOLKS—

From a Previous Post Today….

SHADOW GOVERNMENT UPDATE–
Barack Obama paid a surprise visit to Honolulu, Hawaii on Monday just days before US District Court Judge Derrick Watson, who presides in Honolulu, ruled against President Trump’s temporary refugee ban from terror states.

Barack Obama visits Hawaii, hits the links and enjoys fine dining https://t.co/yeX8N1vIEV pic.twitter.com/ujeR2679Td

— ABC News (@ABC) March 16, 2017

Via Pat Dollard and the Star Advertiser:

Coming off a string of high-profile meetings, former President Barack Obama made an unannounced return to Hawaii Monday.

Just three months removed from his last official holiday visit as president, Obama was spotted dining at Buzz’s Lanikai Monday night.

Local Democrats tried “their best to keep it under wraps the whole day.”

Then on Wednesday President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban was put on hold by US District Court Judge Derrick Watson in Honolulu, Hawaii after hearing arguments that the executive order discriminates on the basis of nationality.

Judge Watson believes Somalis and Yemenis have the same constitutional rights as American citizens.

NOW THIS….



Judge Watson, managed to produce a 43-page decision within two hours of the case being filed in Hawaii.

The judge issued his 43-page ruling less than two hours after hearing Hawaii’s request for a temporary restraining order to stop the ban from being put into practice.

Speedy guy, huh!

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2017...p-refugee-ban/

The federal law actually reads, "Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate."

If this is accurate, which I'm sure it is, it gives the President full authority to deal with the issue as he sees fit.

Judge Watson, managed to produce a 43-page decision within two hours of the case being filed in Hawaii.

The judge issued his 43-page ruling less than two hours after hearing Hawaii’s request for a temporary restraining order to stop the ban from being put into practice.

Obviously the fix was already in.