Trump administration appeals to restore travel ban, says earlier ruling was ‘second-guessing’ the pr
The Trump administration said it was improper for a lower court to engage in “second-guessing” of President Trump’s controversial immigration order and said an appeals court should dissolve a judge’s order that stopped its implementation.
Lawyers for the Justice Department told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit that the states of Washington and Minnesota should not have been allowed to challenge the ban and that a judge was wrong to stop Trump’s executive order, issued just more than a week ago.
“Judicial second-guessing of the President’s determination that a temporary suspension of entry of certain classes of aliens was necessary at this time to protect national security would constitute an impermissible intrusion on the political branches’ plenary constitutional authority over foreign affairs, national security, and immigration,” Acting Solicitor General Noel Francisco said in a brief.
The travel ban will not be restored right away. The 9th Circuit early Sunday denied a request for an immediate reinstatement of the ban and instead asked the state of Washington and the Trump administration to file more arguments by Monday afternoon, the Associated Press reported.
The administration is fighting a Seattle federal judge’s decision from Friday night that imposed a temporary, nationwide halt to Trump’s order barring refugees and those from seven majority-Muslim nations from entering the country.
Even as Trump’s administration complied with the orders of U.S. District Judge James L. Robart, the president blasted out his unhappiness with an extraordinarily personal criticism.
“The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!” Trump tweeted in Saturday morning. On a weekend trip to Florida, Trump went off to play golf, then returned to Twitter in the afternoon to say “many very bad and dangerous people may be pouring into our country” because of the judicial decision.
[Trump lashes out at ‘so-called judge’ who temporarily blocked entry ban]
Trump exaggerated the impact of Robart’s order, and Democrats charged that the president was trying to intimidate the independent judiciary. “The president’s hostility toward the rule of law is not just embarrassing, it is dangerous,” Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) said in a statement.
The State Department said people with valid visas could enter the country. The Department of Homeland Security said it would “resume inspection of travelers in accordance with standard policy and procedure” that existed before Trump’s more restrictive executive order.
