Trump’s ‘Muslim ban’ has been blocked … again

A federal judge in Hawaii stopped President Trump’s newest executive order on Wednesday afternoon, just hours before it was supposed to take effect.

Today’s hearing is before U.S. District Judge James Robart, who also halted the nationwide implementation of the first ban.

President Trump who is now stumping for his troubled push to repeal and replace Obamacare, reacted with anger to the latest federal rulings.

“The history of public statements continues to provide a convincing case that the goal of the Second Executive Order remains the realisation of the long-envisioned Muslim ban”, the Maryland judge wrote, according to the Washington Post. “If this is implemented, it will have devastating consequences for our communities”.

State attorneys general and refugee resettlement agencies across the United States have filed several lawsuits asking courts to issue emergency stays on Mr Trump’s executive order.

In court, is it only the text of the executive order that matters or will judges also look at statements made by the Trump administration?

It was earlier reported that the new ban will be more hard to challenge in court since it no longer covers legal residents or existing visa holders.

The Seattle judge halted the order, finding that it may have violated the rights of visa holders and legal permanent residents.

The changes were meant to make the order withstand legal challenges and also avoid the chaos created when the first order was put in place, causing more than 100 travelers en route to the United States to be detained or returned to their points of origin.

Trump said at a rally Wednesday night in Tennessee that the Hawaii decision was a judicial overreach and vowed to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Trump will appear on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” at 6 p.m.

The Republican president has said the policy is critical for national security. “This new order was tailored to the dictates of the 9th circuits, in my opinion, flawed ruling”.

Now, Trump must convince two appeals courts to overturn the judges’ rulings, Stephen W. Yale-Loehr, a professor of immigration law at Cornell Law School, told the Washington Post. Another was Trump surrogate Rudy Giuliani explaining in January on Fox News that Trump called him up asking how he could enact a “Muslim ban” “legally”.