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US & Canadaselected

Trump loses appeal court bid to

reinstate travel ban
5 hours ago

From the sectionUS & Canada

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Media captionThe US state with a deep fear of refugees
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A US federal appeals court has rejected President Donald Trump's attempt

to reinstate his ban on citizens from seven mainly Muslim countries.

The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals said it would not block a ruling by a Seattle court
that halted the order.
Mr Trump responded with an angry tweet saying national security was at risk and
there would be a legal challenge.

It was unclear whether he intended to file an appeal to the Supreme Court or keep
fighting the case in Seattle.

In its 3-0 unanimous ruling on Thursday, the appeals court said the government had
not proved the terror threat justified reviving the ban.
Media captionBob Ferguson: Travel ban was adopted with "little thought, little
planning, little oversight"
The ruling means that people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and
Yemen with visas can continue to enter the US, and refugees from around the world,
who were also subject to a temporary ban, are no longer blocked either.
However, the ruling does not affect one part of Mr Trump's controversial executive
order: a cap of 50,000 refugees to be admitted in the current fiscal year, down from
the ceiling of 110,000 established under his predecessor, Barack Obama.
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Is US heading for constitutional crisis?

What did the three appeal judges say?

They accepted that the US president had sole discretion to set immigration policy but
added that courts could still assess the order's compliance with the constitution.

They discussed whether the ban violated the constitution by targeting a religious
group (Muslims) but did not reach a conclusion.
Media captionWhere do America's undocumented immigrants live?

The judges also found "no evidence that any alien from any of the countries named
in the order" had committed a terrorist attack in the US.
However, the judges said both sides had made compelling cases: "On the one hand,
the public has a powerful interest in national security and in the ability of an elected
president to enact policies.

"And on the other, the public also has an interest in free flow of travel, in avoiding
separation of families, and in freedom from discrimination."

The appeal judges did not rule on the constitutionality of the order, just on the
question of ending the temporary ban.

What has the reaction been?

Mr Trump responded to the ruling by tweeting his dissent, and then gave an audio
statement saying it was a political decision.

The justice department, which made representations to the appeals court on behalf
of the White House, said in a statement it was "reviewing the decision and
considering its options".

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who had sued over the ban, said it was
a complete victory for the north-western US state.

New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio said: "Here in New York - the safest big city in
America - we will always protect our neighbours, no matter where they came from or
when they got here. Those are our values."

Defeated presidential challenger Hillary Clinton posted a tweet of the result:

What it all means - Anthony Zurcher, BBC
News, Washington
Donald Trump's lawyers did not make their case. In fact, according to three 9th
Circuit judges, they did not even really try to make their case. Rather than explaining
why the temporary travel ban was needed, the administration argued that the
president's authority on immigration was so sweeping that they did not have to
explain why the order was necessary.

According to the court, the government was unable to say why Mr Trump's ban
addressed a pressing national security threat that a temporary stay of the order
would worsen. The lawyers for the challenging states, on the other hand, convinced
the judges that re-imposing the order at this point would create further chaos by
infringing on the due process rights of those on US soil, regardless of their
immigration status.

By issuing a unanimous, unsigned opinion, the judges avoid accusations of partisan

bias, as one of the three was a Republican appointee.

Mr Trump tweeted a sharp "SEE YOU IN COURT" following the decision - but which
court? An appeal to the Supreme Court seems likely, although a better move for the
president may be to fight in the lower court until Judge Neil Gorsuch joins the top
court, establishing a conservative majority on the bench.
Read more from Anthony

Media captionThese Republican women support President Donald Trump's agenda in

Washington

How did we get here?

The executive order, at the end of Mr Trump's first week in office, had sparked
protests and confusion as people were stopped at US borders.
Then a week later, the Seattle judge issued a temporary restraining order that
stopped the ban in its tracks, after Washington state and Minnesota sued.

The justice department appealed to the 9th Circuit in San Francisco, which heard oral
arguments this week.
Media captionHow travel ban prompted a heartfelt act of kindness

Lawyers representing the US government argued that the ban was a "lawful
exercise" of presidential authority.

But the two US states said the ban had harmed universities in their states and
discriminated against Muslims.

Other legal challenges are also under way across the country.
 More on the Trump travel ban
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