KRISTEN BARROS – For a second weekend in a row, travelers, airlines, and government attorneys experience yet another broad shift in US immigration rules.
The roller coaster all started on January 27th when Trump signed a presidential order banning the citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US for 90 days, all refugees for 120 days, and indefinitely halts refugees from Syria.[1]
On Monday, January 30th, the acting attorney general was fired from her post after telling agency lawyers not to defend the measure.[2] Trump replaced her with a US attorney who vowed to enforce the ban.[3]
Late Monday, January 30th, Attorneys General of Washington filed a lawsuit[4] seeking to stop Trump’s January 27 executive order.[5] Washington state became the first to file a lawsuit against the administration and sought a restraining order to stop enforcement of the ban.[6]
On Wednesday, February 1st, an amended complaint with the state of Minnesota added as a plaintiff was filed in US District Court.[7] More than 30,000 Minnesota residents were born in the seven countries targeted by Trump’s immigrant and refugee ban.[8] The new complaint adds that 80 staffers, physicians, and scholars of the renowned, Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic have ties to those countries as well.[9]
On Friday, February 3rd, Federal Judge James Robart halted the enforcement of Trump’s order Friday night, effective nationwide.[10] Robart said the states “have met their burden of demonstrating that they face immediate and irreparable injury as a result of the signing and implementation of the Executive Order.”[11] He said the order adversely affects residents in areas of education, employment, education and freedom to travel.[12] Robart was nominated by President George W. Bush to be a federal judge in the Western District of Washington late in 2003 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in June 2004.[13] News of Robart’s order[14] spread rather quickly.
On Saturday, February 4th, Trump took to Twitter to express his feelings about the judge’s ruling. He called the judge who issued the temporary restraining order a “so-called judge” and vowed that the order would be “overturned!”[15]
On Sunday, February 5th, nearly 130 companies such as Apple, Google, Microsoft and Facebook signed a joint brief[16] in opposition to the January 27th ban that highlighted the work ethic and creativity of immigrants.[17] It said protecting the nation through increased background checks was important, but maintaining America’s fundamental commitment to welcoming immigrants was also critical.[18] Silicon Valley companies are struggling to stay on the same page with their diverse employees.
On Tuesday, February 7th, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco held a hearing on Trump’s Jan. 27 order.[19] Each side had 30 minutes to make its case.[20] The appeals court is only deciding whether to uphold a temporary restraining order issued by a Seattle judge, while a separate series of court hearings will decide later whether Trump’s order is legal.[21]
On Thursday, February 9th, the three judge appeals panel upheld Judge Robert’s ruling and rejected Trump’s attempt to reinstate the travel ban. The panel suggested that the ban on the Muslim countries did not advance national security and that the Trump administration showed “no evidence.”[22] The panel also ruled, contrary to Trump’s claim, that judges have a vital role in constitutional democracy and will continue to review a president’s national security assessment.[23]
So what happens now? The State Department said it had reversed cancelling visas for related foreigners, after provisionally revoking as many as 60,000 of them to comply with Trump’s Jan. 27 order.[24] Then, Homeland Security announced that it would no longer be directing airlines to prevent visa-holders affected by the order from boarding U.S.-bound planes.[25] The agency also said that it had suspended “any and all actions” related to putting in place the terms of the order.[26] However, by late Saturday afternoon, the response from international airlines still appeared in flux. Several were honoring the temporary halt, while some immigrants were still having trouble boarding planes to America.[27]
Will Trump get checked and balanced? This may be the first of many turnovers but it will ultimately be up to the Supreme Court to decide.
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[1] Laura Jarrett et al., Homeland security suspends travel ban, CNN News, Feb. 4, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/03/politics/federal-judge-temporarily-halts-trump-travel-ban-nationwide-ag-says/.
[2] Kevin Liptak & CNN White House Producer, Trump just got checked and balanced, CNN News, Feb. 4, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/04/politics/donald-trump-travel-ban/.
[3] Id.
[4] NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2017.
[5] Fox News, Federal judge in Seattle temporarily halts trump’s immigration order nationwide, Fox News, Feb. 3, 2017, http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/03/us-judge-temporarily-blocks-trumps-travel-ban-from-majority-muslim-countries.html.
[6] Bill Chappell, Washington state sues trump, seeking A stay on immigration ban, NPR, http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/31/512673743/washington-state-sues-trump-seeking-a-stay-on-immigration-ban. (last visited Feb. 15, 2017).
[7] 11 th Ave et al., Minnesota joins the Washington AG’s lawsuit against trump, Feb. 2, 2017, http://www.thestranger.com/slog/2017/02/02/24845990/minnesota-joins-the-washington-ags-lawsuit-against-trump. (last visited Feb. 15, 2017).
[8] Id.
[9] Id.
[10] Laura Jarrett et al., Homeland security suspends travel ban, CNN News, Feb. 4, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/03/politics/federal-judge-temporarily-halts-trump-travel-ban-nationwide-ag-says/.
[11] Id.
[12] Id.
[13] Id.
[14] Id.
[15] FoxNews.com, Justice department appeals judge’s order temporarily blocking trump’s travel ban, Fox News, Feb. 5, 2017, http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/05/justice-department-appeals-judges-order-temporarily-blocking-trumps-travel-ban.html.
[16] Tech industry’s filing against travel ban, NY Times, Feb. 6, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/02/06/business/document-Trump-Amicus-Brief.html.
[17] Alan Gomez et al., Appeals court sets Tuesday hearing to rule on trump’s travel ban, USA Today, Feb. 6, 2017, http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2017/02/06/foes-trump-travel-ban-would-unleash-chaos/97541844/.
[18] Id.
[19] Id.
[20] Id.
[21] Id.
[22] Adam Liptak, Court refuses to reinstate travel ban, dealing trump another legal loss, NY Times, Feb. 13, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/09/us/politics/appeals-court-trump-travel-ban.html.
[23] Id.
[24] FoxNews.com, Justice department appeals judge’s order temporarily blocking trump’s travel ban, Fox News, Feb. 5, 2017, http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/05/justice-department-appeals-judges-order-temporarily-blocking-trumps-travel-ban.html.
[25] Id.
[26] Id.
[27] Id.
