A US federal judge’s order blocking US President Donald Trump’s ban on admitting travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries or any refugees left authorities and advocates wondering what to do yesterday with the people who finally got visas to come to the US, only to be turned away.
The White House said it would try to get a court to reinstate the ban that prompted the US Department of State to cancel visas for 60,000 or more people from the affected countries, causing widespread confusion at airports when some travelers were detained and others sent back.
An internal e-mail circulated among US Homeland Security officials Friday night told employees to immediately comply with the judge’s ruling.
Photo: Reuters
However, the US embassy in Baghdad yesterday said that they are still awaiting guidance on what to tell Iraqis eager to see if their visa restrictions had changed.
“We don’t know what the effect will be, but we’re working to get more information,” the embassy said in a statement.
The judge’s order was a victory for Washington and Minnesota states, which had challenged Trump’s directive.
US District Judge James Robart in Seattle issued a temporary restraining order, ruling the states had standing.
He said they showed their case was likely to succeed.
“The state has met its burden in demonstrating immediate and irreparable injury,” Robart said.
The White House has argued that it will make the country safer.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer released a statement late on Friday saying the government “will file an emergency stay of this outrageous order and defend the executive order of the president, which we believe is lawful and appropriate.”
Soon after, a revised statement was sent out that removed the word “outrageous.”
“The president’s order is intended to protect the homeland and he has the constitutional authority and responsibility to protect the American people,” the statement said.
A US Department of State official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the matter is under litigation, on Friday said: “We are working closely with the [US] Department of Homeland Security and our legal teams to determine how this affects our operations. We will announce any changes affecting travelers to the United States as soon as that information is available.”
Washington and Minnesota states said the temporary ban on entry for people from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen and the global suspension of the US refugee program significantly harms residents and effectively mandates discrimination.
After the ruling, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson said people from the affected countries can now apply for entry to the US.
“Judge Robart’s decision, effective immediately ... puts a halt to President Trump’s unconstitutional and unlawful executive order,” Ferguson said. “The law is a powerful thing — it has the ability to hold everybody accountable to it and that includes the president of the United States.”
The judge’s ruling could be appealed the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals.
Federal attorneys had argued that the US Congress gave the US president authority to make decisions on national security and immigrant entry.
However, in his written order released late Friday, Roberts said it is not the court’s job to “create policy or judge the wisdom of any particular policy promoted by the other two branches,” but rather, to make sure that actions taken by the executive or legislative branches “comports with our country’s laws.”
Court challenges of the ban have been filed nationwide from states and advocacy groups.
Washington Solicitor General Noah Purcell said his state’s focus is the way the US president’s order targets Islam.
Trump has called for a ban on Muslims entering the country and the travel ban was an effort to make good on that campaign promise, Purcell told the judge.
“Do you see a distinction between campaign statements and the executive order?” Robart asked. “I think it’s a bit of a reach to say the president is anti-Muslim based on what he said in New Hampshire in June.”
Purcell said there is an “overwhelming amount of evidence” to show the order is unconstitutionally directed at Islam.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source