President Trump blasts US judge as court stops Muslim travel ban



A furious President Donald Trump yesterday blasted a ‘so-called’ judge’s decision’ that temporarily overturned his executive order that banned refugees and nationals from seven countries from entering the United States.



Trump vowed in a series of tweets that the Friday ruling by Federal Judge James Robart would be reversed.

“When a country is no longer able to say who can, and who cannot, come in and out, especially for reasons of safety and security – big trouble!” Trump said in the first of the Tweets to react to the ruling by a Seattle judge in the state of Washington, James Robart.

He followed it up with: “Interesting that certain Middle-Eastern countries agree with the ban. They know if certain people are allowed in it’s death and destruction!’

And later this: “The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!”

The White House itself had insisted, in reaction to the ruling late Friday that the ban was “lawful and appropriate.”
It branded the court ruling ‘outrageous’.

Moments after that, it issued a fresh statement with the same wording but removed the word ‘outrageous’, according to the CNN.
It said Department of Justice would file an emergency appeal.

The Customs & Border Protection (CBP) subsequently informed U.S. airlines to start boarding travelers who had been previously barred by the executive order.

The CBP gave the airlines the green light to operate just as they had before the order.

In effect, individuals from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen with valid visas can now board U.S.-bound flights and airlines are working to update their websites to reflect the change.

Judge James Robart said his ruling took immediate effect.

He ruled that Washington state and Minnesota had standing to challenge Trump’s order, which government lawyers disputed, and said they showed their case was likely to succeed.

“The state has met its burden in demonstrating immediate and irreparable injury,” Robart said.
“This TRO (temporary restraining order) is granted on a nationwide basis …”

Trump’s order penultimate week sparked protests across the world and confusion at airports, especially in the US where some travelers were detained.

The judge’s written order, released late Friday, said it’s not the court’s job to “create policy or judge the wisdom of any particular policy promoted by the other two branches” of government.

The court’s job “is limited to ensuring that the actions taken by the other two branches comport with our country’s laws.”
Robart ordered federal defendants “and their respective officers, agents, servants, employees, attorneys and persons acting in concert or participation with them are hereby enjoined and restrained from” enforcing the executive order.

Up to 60,000 foreigners from the seven majority-Muslim countries had their visas canceled because of the executive order, the State Department said Friday.

That figure contradicts a statement from a Justice Department lawyer on the same day during a court hearing in Virginia about the ban. The lawyer in that case said about 100,000 visas had been revoked.

The State Department clarified that the higher figure includes diplomatic and other visas that were actually exempted from the travel ban, as well as expired visas.

Ferguson, a Democrat, said the order is harming Washington residents, businesses and its education system.
Washington-based businesses Amazon, Expedia and Microsoft support the state’s efforts to stop the order. They say it’s hurting their operations, too.

Eric Ferrero, Amnesty International USA spokesman, lauded the short-term relief provided by the order but added: “Congress must step in and block this unlawful ban for good.”

Thousands of protesters marched on Parliament in London yesterday demanding the cancellation of the British Government’s invitation to U.S. President Donald Trump for a state visit.

The protest involved a three kilometer march of several thousand people from the U.S. embassy to the Houses of Parliament.
Protesters chanted “Theresa May, shame on you!”

Lawmakers are expected to debate British plan to invite Trump later this month.

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