Trump’s travel ban violation of federal law: Appeals court

Rasa - A new travel ban by US President Donald Trump's administration targeting Muslims is a violation of federal law, a US appeals court has ruled.

News ID: 435446

Date: 24 December 2017 - 19:42

RNA - The ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Friday evening states that the third version of Trump’s proposed ban on citizens from Muslims-majority nations is beyond his legal authority.

“For the third time, we are called upon to assess the legality of the President’s efforts to bar over 150 million nationals of six Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States or being issued immigrant visas that they would ordinarily be qualified to receive.”

“We conclude that the President’s issuance of the Proclamation once again exceeds the scope of his delegated authority,” the court ruled in a lengthy decision. "The Proclamation’s indefinite entry suspensions constitute nationality discrimination in the issuance of immigrant visas."

The order, however, will be kept on hold pending the outcome of any Supreme Court review sought by the Justice Department.

Earlier this month, the US Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to fully enforce a travel ban targeting most citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad and North Korea, along with some groups of people from Venezuela.

The Supreme Court’s orders effectively overturned a compromise in place since June, when the court said travelers with "bona fide" connections to the United States could continue to travel here notwithstanding restrictions in earlier version of the ban.

Trump has said the restrictions are needed to tighten security and prevent terrorist attacks. Opponents say the ban violates the US Constitution because it discriminates against Muslims and certain nationalities.

During the 2016 presidential race, Trump campaigned for "a total and complete shutdown" of Muslims entering the United States on the pretext of preventing terrorist attacks.

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