US appeals court orders blocking travel ban

The Department of Homeland Security has stopped flagging travellers from certain countries targeted by the ‘Muslim Ban’ order from President Donald Trump, in order to comply with a federal court ruling.

The Justice Department however intends to file an emergency stay of the order at the earliest possible time, the Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman said.

Trump had promised earlier in the day to reverse the order issued by Federal Judge James Robart in Seattle, Washington.

Trump wrote on Twitter:

The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!

He added:

When a country is no longer able to say who can, and who cannot , come in & out, especially for reasons of safety &.security – big trouble!

The executive order Trump signed a week ago bars nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US for 90 days, freezes the US refugee program for 120 days and bans Syrian refugees indefinitely. Trump said he identified Muslim-majority nations for the travel ban from a government report on terror-prone states prepared during the Barack Obama administration

It has caused tens of thousands of visas to be revoked and led to dozens of detentions nationwide, triggering mass protests across the country.

Judge Robart halted the order late Friday, leading border agents to declare that cancelled visas would be reinstated and refugees with valid visas would be admitted into the US.

After obtaining the restraining order, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson wrote on Twitter: “No one is above the law – not even the President.”