Appeals court weighs Trump ban as travellers arrive to tears
WASHINGTON — The fierce battle over President Donald Trump’s travel and refugee ban edged up the judicial escalator Monday, headed for a possible final face-off at the Supreme Court. Travelers, temporarily unbound, tearfully reunited with loved ones at U.S. airports.
The Justice Department filed a new defence of Trump’s ban on travellers from seven predominantly Muslim nations as a federal appeals court weighs whether to restore the administration’s executive order. The lawyers said the travel ban was a “lawful exercise” of the president’s authority to protect national security and said a judge’s order that put the policy on hold should be overruled.
The filing with the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was the latest salvo in a high-stakes legal fight surrounding Trump’s order, which was halted Friday by a federal judge in Washington state.
A randomly selected panel of appellate judges is to hear arguments Tuesday.