A federal appeals court panel declined to reinstate Trump’s Muslim ban Thursday. It was initially blocked when U.S. District Judge James L. Robert granted Washington and Minnesota a temporary restraining order on the ban.
The ruling prompted an emotional response from President Donald Trump.
SEE YOU IN COURT, THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2017
The 3-judge panel concluded unanimously that the Trump administration did not demonstrate an immediate – or even increased – national security risk from the 7 Muslim-majority countries which the ban affects.
The judges also rejected the government’s claim that they have no right to review the president’s executive orders. The panel wrote that suggesting they don’t have the ability to check Trump’s orders “runs contrary to the fundamental structure of our constitutional democracy.”
Trump’s ban blocked citizens of 7 Muslim-majority countries – Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen – from entering the U.S., even with valid visas, and caused a national uproar and sparked protests several airports.
NationofChange joined protesters at John F. Kennedy Airport, where thousands demonstrated in opposition to the travel ban.
The big question now is whether or not the Trump administration will appeal to the entire 9th Circuit Court of Appeals or ask the Supreme Court to intervene. If they go the way of the Supreme Court – which is one justice short since Antonin Gregory Scalia’s death in 2016 – Trump runs the risk of a 4-4 tie, because the court is divided evenly between liberals and conservatives.
In the case of a tie in the Supreme Court the appeals court decision would keep in place whatever the appeals court decides.
The appeals panel consisted of Judge Michelle T. Friedland, who was appointed by President Barack Obama; Judge William C. Canby Jr., who was appointed by President Jimmy Carter; and Judge Richard R. Clifton, who was appointed by President George W. Bush.
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