DHS Stops Implementing Trump Immigration Order After Federal Ruling

The Department of Homeland Security said it has suspended any and all actions implementing the affected sections of President Trump's executive order on immigration in accordance with a federal judge's ruling in Washington that puts a temporary hold on the order, acting press secretary Gillian Christensen said in a statement.

"This includes actions to suspend passenger system rules that flag travelers for operational action subject to the Executive Order," Christensen said in a statement. "DHS personnel will resume inspection of travelers in accordance with standard policy and procedure."

"At the earliest possible time, the Department of Justice intends to file an emergency stay of this order and defend the President's Executive Order, which is lawful and appropriate. The Order is intended to protect the homeland and the American people, and the President has no higher duty and responsibility than to do so."

Meanwhile, the Department of State has reversed the cancellations of tens of thousands of visas to nationals from the seven Muslim majority countries affected by the executive order.

Judge James L. Robart granted the Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson's motion for an immediate restraining order to put Trump's executive order on immigration on hold nationwide. The suspension of the executive order is in effect until Ferguson's larger lawsuit over the travel ban is heard in court.

Robart ruled that the executive order has in fact harmed U.S. citizens and should be put on hold.

Trump's order bans travel to the U.S. from seven predominantly Muslim countries — Syria, Sudan, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen — for three months; it also bans refugees from entering the U.S. for 120 days and bans refugees from Syria from entering the U.S. indefinitely.

Several other lawsuits have been brought against the federal government regarding the executive order and judges have issued similar rulings blocking certain aspects of the immigration order but the ruling in Washington has so far been the most broad.

The government has since filed an appeal to the judge's ruling in Seattle. Trump tweeted on Saturday that the opinion of the "so-called judge" is ridiculous.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, in whose state the case was heard, responded to Trump's comment on Twitter saying the attack on a federal judge was beneath the dignity of the highest office in the nation.

Since Trump's order was announced, there were immediate effects to travelers coming from the affected countries. Initially, even green card holders, who are lawful permanent residents of the U.S., were denied entry to the country. Officials were forced to clarify how the order would be implemented, saying shortly after the rollout that it no longer applied to green card holders or citizens of dual nationality.

It was unclear how many people were impacted by the ban until a court hearing in Virginia where a DOJ lawyer said 100,000 visas had been revoked. The State Department later said it was around 60,000 visas that were "provisionally revoked." Until that point, the White House had played down the numbers, saying around 109 people were affected when the order was in its early stages. At a press conference with officials from DHS and Customs and Border Protection earlier this week, authorities provided numbers on those who had been denied boarding, which stands at just over 1200 travelers as of Feb. 2.

Neal McNamara contributed to this report

Image Credit: US Southern Command