Trump Travel Ban: Court Rejects Appeal to Overturn Restraining Order

SEATTLE, WA — (Update): The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals early Sunday denied the government's request to overturn a restraining order against President Donald Trump's travel ban executive order.

The ruling comes after 24 hours of legal wrangling between the state of Washington and the Trump administration. Judge James L. Robart granted Attorney General Bob Ferguson's motion for a restraining order in Seattle late Friday afternoon. The Department of Justice then filed its appeal in the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco on Saturday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Trump took to Twitter to criticize Robart, a George W. Bush appointee, calling him a "so-called judge." On Saturday night, Trump was asked by a reporter about the latest appeal, and he said simply, "We'll win."

The government argued that Robart's restraining order was too broad because the president has "unreviewable authority" over who can enter the U.S.

"The district court’s sweeping injunction should be stayed pending appeal. It conflicts with the basic principle that “an alien seeking initial admission to the United States requests a privilege and has no constitutional rights regarding his application, for the power to admit or exclude aliens is a sovereign prerogative'" the Trump administration's appeal reads. "It also contravenes the considered judgment of Congress that the President should have the unreviewable authority to suspend the admission of any class of aliens."

With the restraining order still in place, travelers from seven countries - Sudan, Syrian, Libya, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, and Somalia - banned from entering the U.S. may travel here. The restraining order also allows refugees to once again enter the U.S. The Department of Homeland Security is complying with the restraining order.

This report will be updated.

SEATTLE, WA — A federal judge has granted Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson's motion for an immediate restraining order to put President Donald Trump's travel ban executive order on hold nationwide.

The restraining order bars federal officers from enforcing key parts of the ban, including the part that bans refugees from entering the U.S. The suspension of the executive order is in effect until Ferguson's larger lawsuit over the travel ban is heard in court.

Judge James L. Robart made the ruling Friday afternoon after hearing arguments from the state and the Department of Justice, which represented the Trump administration. Robart said that the executive order has, in fact, harmed U.S. citizens, and should be put on hold.

Robart pressed both the state and federal attorneys over their arguments for and against the order. He questioned Solicitor General Noah Purcell how the order could be unconstitutional - as the state argued - if it doesn't name a specific religion.

He also asked U.S. Department of Justice Attorney Michelle Bennett how the order could be rational if no refugees from the seven countries named in it have either been arrested for planning or committed acts of terror.

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. Trump has also said in interviews that the U.S. would otherwise prioritize Christian refugees seeking to come here.

Ferguson filed a lawsuit against Trump on Monday seeking to overturn the executive order; simultaneously, he asked a judge to grant a restraining order to suspend the executive order while the lawsuit proceeds through the courts. The judge on Friday only ruled on Ferguson's restraining order.

"[T]he order is illegal, is causing and will continue to cause irreparable harm in Washington, and is contrary to the public interest. The court should fulfill its constitutional role as a check on executive abuse and temporarily bar enforcement of the Order nationwide," Ferguson's restraining order says.

After the hearing, Ferguson said that the federal government could appeal Robart's ruling.

Ferguson has filed the suit on behalf of all state residents, and local companies like Expedia, Amazon, and Microsoft have provided legal support for the suit. In the suit, Ferguson details the Washington groups affected by the executive order, from University of Washington students studying here to Expedia and Amazon's global work forces.

State Republican Party Chair Susan Hutchinson pushed back on Ferguson's suit on Monday, saying that Ferguson was just trying to score political points for a future run for governor.

"He's got very thin ice he's standing on, legally," she said.

The Trump administration has also pushed back on critics of the ban, saying that it's not a ban at all, and that millions of people have entered the U.S. on visas since it was signed.

Ferguson was the first state attorney general to file suit against Trump over the executive order, but Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson on Wednesday joined the suit. The attorneys general in Virginia, New York and Massachusetts have joined federal lawsuits in their respective states.

Ferguson has said that he wanted to move swiftly on the suit because the executive order is affecting state residents. Upward of a dozen people were detained at Sea-Tac over the last week, and Microsoft has said that 76 of its employees are affected.

"Every hour matters," Ferguson said during a press conference Monday. "[The executive order] is impacting people's lives in a profound way. That's why I felt so strongly that it was important to bring a thoughtful lawsuit."

Robart was appointed in 2003 by George W. Bush.

Image via Attorney General Bob Ferguson