Trump’s Travel Ban Halt Upheld by 9th Circuit Court

“We hold that the government has not shown a likelihood of success on the merits of its appeal, nor has it shown that failure to enter a stay would cause irreparable injury, and we therefore deny its emergency motion for a stay,” the appeals court’s decision said.

Government lawyers were put to the test by the three-judge panel, arguing in favor of enforcing the travel ban while litigation over it is ongoing.

The 9th Circuit Court was not ruling on whether the order was constitutional or not. The issue at hand was whether it would be enforced while legal challenges made their way through the judicial system.

Large parts of the executive order had been suspended by US District Judge James L. Robart in Seattle, who incurred President Trump’s fury on Twitter. Trump called him a “so-called judge” who “opens up our country to potential terrorists” and puts the country in “peril.”

The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2017

Because the ban was lifted by a judge, many very bad and dangerous people may be pouring into our country. A terrible decision

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2017

Trump’s gripes with the judicial branch of government were echoed by DOJ lawyer August E. Flentje. When asked on Tuesday by Judge Michelle T. Friedland whether he was arguing “that the president’s decision in that regard is unreviewable,” Flentje responded in the affirmative.

Washington Solicitor General Noah Purcell, who also represented Minnesota, seemed to express similar feelings when he argued to keep the travel ban in place by telling the appeals court that if they did not “abdicate” their check on the executive branch, they would “throw the country back into chaos.”

The three judges also argued amongst themselves over whether or not the travel ban on seven predominantly Muslim countries constituted a Muslim ban. Judge Richard Clifton argued that the countries affected by the executive order “encompass only a relatively small percentage of Muslims.”