US Department of Justice Moves to Appeal Halt of Trump's Travel Ban
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The US Justice Department has sent a notice of appeal of the February 3 decision by a federal judge to block US President Donald Trump's controversial executive order barring refugees and Muslims from some countries from entering the US.
It is expected that an appeal will be filed soon with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Sputnik reported.
The move to appeal has been expected, with the US president tweeting his anger at the decision and the US Department of Homeland Security saying that while they would stop enforcing the ban, they expected it to be defended soon.
Judge James Robart of Washington State temporarily halted enforcement of the travel ban on Friday, finding that the states of Washington and Minnesota had grounds to file suit against Trump and the agencies responsible for enforcing the ban and had a reasonable chance of winning, and that in the meantime the ban would cause "irreparable injury."
Trump signed an executive order January 27 halting the US Syrian refugee resettlement program, temporarily halting all other refugee programs, and barring entry to nationals from Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
The suddenness of the order, which took effect while many travelers from those countries were in the air, led to chaos at airports, and the back and forth, as the American Civil Liberties Union filed a suit to prevent refugees from being immediately deported and the State Department canceled and then restored visas, has caused upheaval all week.
Within hours of the announcement of the order, there were mass protests at airports across the country, in most major cities and in front of the White House. Demonstrators took to the streets again on Saturday.
Trump, meanwhile, has used Twitter to slap at both the judge and the decision, calling Robart a "so-called" judge and saying his decision imperiled the safety of the US.
