Federal Judge Shuts Down Trump’s Cruel Refugee Ban
by Michael J. Scott
On Friday evening a federal judge in Seattle put a screeching halt to enforcement of key parts of President Trump’s executive order on immigration—effective for the entire country—in the “broadest” ruling against the order yet,reports Reuters.
US District Judge James Robart granted a temporary restraining order that blocks the parts of the order that ban refugees and immigrants from seven countries from entering the US, as well as the part that allows exemptions based on religion, reports the Stranger.
Federal officers nationwide can no longer legally enforce those portions of the executive order.
“The Constitution prevailed today,” the Seattle PI quotes Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson as saying. “No one is above the law—not even the President.”
The restraining order was sought by the state of Washington, which was joined by Minnesota and officially supported by Amazon and Expedia. Ferguson had argued that Trump’s executive order is illegal and discriminatory.
Robart, who was appointed by George W. Bush, says he was following the job of the court, which is to make sure the order was both lawful and Constitutional. Attorneys for the federal government are expected to appeal the ruling.