WASHINGTON, D.C. — Federal judges in Hawaii and Maryland have blocked President Trump’s ban on travel from six Muslim-majority countries, halting its implementation nationwide.
The federal judge in Hawaii also blocked the portion of the executive order that suspends new refugee admissions into the United States.
Multiple courts now have rejected both versions of the executive order and have raised serious concerns that it still unconstitutionally seeks to exclude people on the basis of their religion.
As Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, writes on CNN.com today:
“Not only is an order based on such discriminatory intent likely unconstitutional, the travel ban, and the statement it sends to the world, undermines our national security, destabilizes our economy and puts our troops in harm’s way.
“ … There is a better way to keep the nation safe: Focus valuable local and federal law enforcement resources on individuals who are threats to public safety. And, through our refugee programs that already require two years of intense security vetting, ensure America serves as a beacon of freedom to the world, building trust with those we rely on in unstable and dangerous countries.
“… So we ask ourselves: Do we believe in the Golden Rule?
“As the American public comes to realize that these neighbors, shop keepers, laborers, students, friends now live their life afraid of the US government, we face this question with a clarity of purpose.
“The lesson my immigrant parents instilled in me is not lost on the majority of Americans: We must do unto others as we would have them do unto us.”