Appeals court presses Trump administration on travel ban
After an hour-long hearing in appeals court with a government lawyer, the three judges said they would try to deliver a ruling as soon as possible
Judge Richard R. Clifton, judge William Canby and judge Michelle T. Friedland sit on the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
President Donald Trump's order temporarily banning US entry to people from seven Muslim-majority countries came under intense scrutiny on Tuesday from a federal appeals court that questioned whether the ban unfairly targeted people over their religion.
During a more than hour-long oral argument, a three-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals pressed a government lawyer whether the Trump administration's national security argument was backed by evidence that people from the seven countries posed a danger.
Judge Richard Clifton, a George W. Bush appointee, posed equally tough questions for an attorney representing Minnesota and Washington states, which are challenging the ban. Clifton asked if a Seattle judge's suspension of Trump's policy was "overbroad."
The 9th Circuit said at the end of the session it would issue a ruling as soon as possible. Earlier on Tuesday, the court said it would likely rule this week but would not issue a same-day ruling. The matter will ultimately likely go to the US Supreme Court.
Trump's 27 January order barred travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering for 90 days and all refugees for 120 days, except refugees from Syria, whom he would ban indefinitely.
A federal judge in Seattle suspended the order last Friday and many travelers who had been waylaid by the ban quickly moved to travel to the United States while it was in limbo.
Trump has defended the measure as necessary for national security, saying that “the threat from radical Islamic terrorism is very real.”
The threat from radical Islamic terrorism is very real, just look at what is happening in Europe and the Middle-East. Courts must act fast!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 7, 2017
The order sparked protests and chaos at US and overseas airports.
