A United States appeals court on Monday upheld a decision to block President Donald Trump's controversial travel ban targeting citizens from six Muslim majority nations - the latest in a string of stinging judicial blows for the Republican billionaire.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday ruled unanimously that the order restricting travel from six mainly Muslim countries "exceeded the scope of the authority delegated to him by Congress".
The judges say the president violated USA immigration law by discriminating against people based on their nationality and that Trump failed to show their entry into the country would hurt American interests.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which is based in Virginia, had already ruled against the Trump administration, finding that the travel ban amounted to religious discrimination. This rule, the 9 Circuit held, clearly prohibits the president from excluding an entire class of immigrants due to their national origin. And now, the fight is on the Supreme Court's doorstep.
If the travel ban is to be salvaged, the Supreme Court would have to move quickly.
Following its 86-pages of arguments the judges remanded the case to the district court with instructions to re-issue the injunction against Trump's Executive Order in line with the appeal court's decision.
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Even before Monday's ruling, the case was on the fast track to the Supreme Court, where the administration on June 1 filed an emergency request seeking to reinstate the order and hear its appeal of the 4th Circuit ruling.
Monday's ruling is the latest in a string of judicial blows to Trump's efforts to prohibit the entry of citizens of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days while the U.S. government reviews their screening procedures.
Trump's first order on January 27 led to chaos and protests at airports and in various cities before being blocked by the courts. The Hawaii judge also blocked a 120-day ban on refugees entering the United States.
In a filing with the court Monday concerning the 4th Circuit decision, ACLU lawyer Omar C. Jadwat said the administration had shown by its actions that there was no immediate danger to the country in not having the travel ban in place.
"The decision is the first addressing the Executive Order at issue to rest relief on statutory rather than constitutional grounds", Jeffrey Wall, the acting solicitor general for the Trump administration, wrote in a letter. "We continue to be confident that the President's executive order to protect this country is fully lawful and ultimately will be upheld by the Supreme Court", Spicer said in a press briefing. They also said POTUS failed to follow protocol in reducing the annual cap on admitting refugees. This is seen as a major defeat for Trump's proposed temporary ban for travelers from six predominantly Muslim countries.
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