Federal judge in Hawaii extends court order blocking Trump travel ban

[webfact]

Federal judge in Hawaii extends court order blocking Trump travel ban

REUTERS

 

Hawaii Attorney General Douglas Chin talks to the media at the U.S. District Court Ninth Circuit after seeking an extension after filing an amended lawsuit against President Donald Trump's new travel ban in Honolulu, Hawaii, March 29, 2017. REUTERS/Hugh Gentry

 

HONOLULU (Reuters) - A federal judge in Hawaii indefinitely extended on Wednesday an order blocking enforcement of President Donald Trump's revised ban on travel to the United States from six predominantly Muslim countries.

 

U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson turned an earlier temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit brought by the state of Hawaii challenging Trump's travel directive as unconstitutional religious discrimination.

 

Trump signed the new ban on March 6 in a bid to overcome legal problems with a January executive order that caused chaos at airports and sparked mass protests before a Washington judge stopped its enforcement in February. Trump has said the travel ban is needed for national security.

 

In its challenge to the travel ban, Hawaii claims its state universities would be harmed by the order because they would have trouble recruiting students and faculty.

 

It also says the island state's economy would be hit by a decline in tourism. The court papers cite reports that travel to the United States "took a nosedive" after Trump's actions.

 

The state was joined by a new plaintiff named Ismail Elshikh, an American citizen from Egypt who is an imam at the Muslim Association of Hawaii and whose mother-in-law lives in Syria, according to the lawsuit.

 

Hawaii and other opponents of the ban claim that the motivation behind it is based on religion and Trump's election campaign promise of "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States."

 

"The court will not crawl into a corner, pull the shutters closed, and pretend it has not seen what it has," Watson wrote on Wednesday.

 

Watson wrote that his decision to grant the preliminary injunction was based on the likelihood that the state would succeed in proving that the travel ban violated the U.S. Constitution's religious freedom protection.

 

Trump has vowed to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is currently split 4-4 between liberals and conservatives with the president's pick - appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch - still awaiting confirmation.

 

(Reporting by Hunter Haskins in Honolulu; Additional reporting and writing by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Paul Tait)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-03-30

[Berkshire]

Trump really should just give up this charade....for the sake of national security.

[jesimps]

23 minutes ago, Berkshire said:

Trump really should just give up this charade....for the sake of national security.

Much better if the lefty judges back off and let the president do his job.

 

[darksidedog]

I think its high time someone read out, and explained to Trump, Bannon and Co. the Constitution.

I do not see the Supreme Court over ruling this judgment.

Common sense calls for them to accept it is wrong, move along and come back with sensible ideas that can actually be beneficial and constitutionally sound.

I suspect though we are heading to the Supreme Court.

[Berkshire]

25 minutes ago, jesimps said:

Much better if the lefty judges back off and let the president do his job.

 

That's the problem, we the people do not trust this President to do the job properly.  And he earns our mistrust, time and time again. 

[yardrunner]

30 minutes ago, jesimps said:

Much better if the lefty judges back off and let the president do his job.

 

what job is that, ignoring the rule of law and ruling by decree (DICTATORSHIP)

[stevenl]

47 minutes ago, jesimps said:

Much better if the lefty judges back off and let the president do his job.

 

I'm sure those 'lefty judges' will do that if the presidents stays within his limitations (ie the law).

Edited March 30, 2017 by stevenl

[kowpot]

I think Trump should send all refugees to Hawaii. 

[Credo]

4 hours ago, kowpot said:

I think Trump should send all refugees to Hawaii. 

Since there is a moratorium on accepting refugees, Hawaii will likely have no objection.   

[smotherb]

7 hours ago, jesimps said:

Much better if the lefty judges back off and let the president do his job.

 

Your opinion somehow loses credence; the president obviously is unprepared to do his job.

[joecoolfrog]

7 hours ago, jesimps said:

Much better if the lefty judges back off and let the president do his job.

 

 

7 hours ago, jesimps said:

Much better if the lefty judges back off and let the president do his job.

 

I am certain you applauded everything Obama wished to do .I am certain that you never ranted on about his dictatorial leanings or contempt for the Constitution !

[Scott]

10 hours ago, darksidedog said:

I think its high time someone read out, and explained to Trump, Bannon and Co. the Constitution.

I do not see the Supreme Court over ruling this judgment.

Common sense calls for them to accept it is wrong, move along and come back with sensible ideas that can actually be beneficial and constitutionally sound.

I suspect though we are heading to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court would not deal with the rightness or wrongness of the EO, they would deal with the Constitutional issue and whether the President has the power to do this as it is written.  

 

There is the objective, factual review of the law and then most likely a more subjective review, that brings into play other Constitutional issues.   The more subjective part is where Trump may have problems since what he said numerous times appears to be discriminatory.   The subjective portion, however, will be less important.  

[boomerangutang]

11 hours ago, jesimps said:

Much better if the lefty judges back off and let the president do his job.

                    Trump is receding in to bunker mentality. He wouldn't go to the annual WH Correspondents' Dinner with journalists because he's at war with them, and they would shred him to little bits.  More recently, he said he won't go and do what all presidents have done since Harding .....throw out the first pitch for a baseball game.  His spokespeople are told to say it's because it conflicts with his schedule - yet another lie in a long list of daily lies.  The real reason he won't appear in public is HE WOULD GET BOOED BY THE STADIUM FULL OF REGULAR AMERICANS.   His handlers can't control what 10,000 baseball fans do, so they take the chicken-shit way out, and say he can't go.