Court Scuttles Again Trump’s Attempt to Impose Muslim Travel Ban
The court order stated that Trump’s proclamation issued last month restricting travel to the U.S. by people from 8 countries contravenes federal immigration law.
By Rakesh Raman
A Honolulu-based U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson issued Tuesday a temporary restraining order against President Donald Trump’s diktat to ban the entry of people from certain Muslim-majority countries. This is the third such court intervention that has blocked Trump’s Muslim travel ban.
“Today’s dangerously flawed district court order undercuts the President’s efforts to keep the American people safe and enforce minimum security standards for entry into the United States,” a White House statement retorted Tuesday. It added that the Department of Justice will vigorously defend the President’s lawful action.
The court order stated that Trump’s proclamation issued last month restricting travel to the U.S. by people from 8 countries contravenes federal immigration law.
However, the White House statement countered by saying that the proclamation restricting travel was issued after an extensive worldwide security review by the Secretary of Homeland Security, and following consultation by the President with members of the Cabinet, including the Secretaries of Homeland Security, State, and Defense and the Attorney General.
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Earlier, after facing a severe opposition from people and American courts for his executive order signed in January, President Trump had issued in March a revised order restricting entry of people from six Muslim countries: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
The earlier Muslim ban order issued on January 27 had “suspended for 90 days the entry of certain aliens from seven countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.”
According to that order, these countries had already been identified as presenting heightened concerns about terrorism and travel to the United States.
Later, U.S. District Judge James Robart had issued a nationwide temporary restraining order blocking Trump’s Muslim ban order. Trump also had fired a top federal government lawyer Sally Yates when she opposed Trump’s order.
A number of United Nations (UN) human rights and refugee welfare agencies had expressed their anguish over Trump’s arbitrary decision to ban the entry of people from certain Muslim countries.
The agencies – including UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and IOM, the International Organization for Migration – hoped that the U.S. will continue its strong leadership role and long tradition of protecting those who are fleeing conflict and persecution.
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As Tuesday’s court order has rescinded Trump’s proclamation, the immigration officials have resumed regular processing of visas for citizens of Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen.
While Trump’s order also proposed to restrict entry of certain people from Venezuela and North Korea, the court ruling will not affect that part of the travel ban.
According to the White House statement, the entry restrictions in the proclamation apply to countries based on their inability or unwillingness to share critical information necessary to safely vet applications, as well as a threat assessment related to terrorism, instability, and other grave national security concerns.
The statement added that the Judiciary will ultimately uphold the President’s lawful and necessary action and swiftly restore its vital protections for the safety of the American people.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a government’s National award-winning journalist and social activist. He has formed an environment-protection group called Green Group in Delhi. Earlier, he had been associated with the United Nations (UN) through United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) as a digital media expert to help businesses use technology for brand marketing and business development. He also runs a free school for deserving children under his NGO – RMN Foundation.
