Appeals Court Rules Against President Trump’s Travel Ban

President Donald Trump and his administration faced yet another defeat in the federal courts this week over his controversial executive order that bans travel from six predominantly Muslim nations.

On Monday, June 12, the San Francisco-based United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the president was overstepping his authority with this ban, which would suspend U.S. entry more than 180 million nationals and 110,000 to 50,000 refugees from the six countries.

“The President’s authority is subject to certain statutory and constitutional restraints,” the three-judge panel wrote in the court’s ruling. “We conclude that the President, in issuing the Executive Order, exceeded the scope of the authority delegated to him by Congress.”

“The Order does not offer a sufficient justification to suspend the entry of more than 180 million people on the basis of nationality. National security is not a “talismanic incantation,” the court concluded.

In their ruling, the three judges referenced the questionable language in one of the president’s latest tweets, which was sent on June 5: “That’s right, we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that won’t help us protect our people!”

Of the tweet, the judges said, “Indeed, the President recently confirmed his assessment that it is the ‘countries’ that are inherently dangerous, rather than the 180 million individual nationals of those countries who are barred from entry under the President’s ‘travel ban.’”

Previously, the Trump administration sought out a review from the Supreme Court of a similar ruling last month issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Virginia. The 4th Circuit upheld injunctions opposing the ban on the grounds that the travel ban was driven by religious intolerance and discrimination toward Muslims.

The 9th Circuit Court ruling affirms the decision in March by U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson that found that the main provision in travel ban violated the Constitution because it essentially disfavors Muslims.

In response to the ruling, the president took to Twitter once again to express his displeasure for the ruling and to reference an impending review from the Supreme Court.

“Well, as predicted, the 9th Circuit did it again – Ruled against the TRAVEL BAN at such a dangerous time in the history of our country. S.C.,” Trump tweeted on Tuesday morning, June 13.

Civil rights and legal organization Asian Americans Advancing Justice was among the organizations that filed an amicus brief last month with the 9th Circuit on the administration’s attempt to remove a block on the ban.

Regarding this week’s ruling, Advancing Justice said, “Today we are proud that our courts continue to stand up for the Muslim community and the rule of law. Many Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim and South Asian communities have suffered greatly since the Muslim ban was first issued. President’s attempted Muslim ban fed into the current culture of Islamophobia within the U.S. and abroad. (By Klarize Medenilla/AJPress)