Appeals Court Upholds Block of Trump Travel Ban as Supreme Court Battle Approaches

In a pivotal day for the fate of President Trump’s executive order limiting the ability of travelers from predominately Muslim countries to visit the U.S., the U.S Court of Appeals has ruled that the ban will remained blocked.

The U.S. Court of Appeals’ Ninth Circuit in San Francisco ruled that the elements of the executive order affecting immigration will remain blocked, particularly the limits placed on the entry of refugees and the 90-day ban on admitting new visitors from select countries.

“We conclude that the President, in issuing the Executive Order, exceeded the scope of the authority delegated to him by Congress,” reads the opinion. “In suspending the entry of more than 180 million nationals from six countries, suspending the entry of all refugees, and reducing the cap on the admission of refugees from 110,000 to 50,000 for the 2017 fiscal year, the President did not meet the essential precondition to exercising his delegated authority: The President must make a sufficient finding that the entry of these classes of people would be ‘detrimental to the interests of the United States.'”

It also states that “immigration, even for the President, is not a one-person show.”

Other parts of the order have now been allowed to proceed, notably the provision that allows the government to conduct internal reviews on traveler and refugee vetting programs.

The Supreme Court has been asked by the Department of Justice to allow the travel ban to go into effect until the court has ruled on its legality. The deadline for those who oppose the ban to comment on this request is later today.

In a separate filing to the Supreme Court, the state of Hawaii expressed its opposition to the Department of Justice request that would allow the ban to go into effect while under review by the Supreme Court.

“Staying the injunction would irreparably injure respondents and thrust the country back into the chaos and confusion that resulted when the first Order was announced,” states the filing. “The long term consequences would be even more significant.”

This story will be updated as more details emerge.