A protester in Washington, D.C., opposing the modified travel ban. (Ted Eytan / CC 2.0)

President Trump’s revised travel ban has been temporarily struck down by a federal judge in Hawaii. The modified ban, which is facing legal challenges in numerous courtrooms across the country, was blocked late Wednesday afternoon.

The New York Times reports:

Judge Watson, a federal judge based in Honolulu, ruled that the state of Hawaii and an individual plaintiff, Ismail Elshikh, the imam of the Muslim Association of Hawaii, had reasonable grounds to challenge the order as religious discrimination. And he concluded that allowing the travel restrictions to go into effect at midnight, as scheduled, could have caused them irreparable harm.

In a pointed decision that repeatedly invoked Mr. Trump’s public comments, Judge Watson wrote that a “reasonable, objective observer” would view the order as “issued with a purpose to disfavor a particular religion, in spite of its stated, religiously neutral purpose.”

Judge Watson, an Obama appointee, flatly rejected the government’s argument that a court would have to probe Mr. Trump’s “veiled psyche” to deduce religious animus. He quoted extensively from Mr. Trump’s campaign remarks that Hawaii cited in its lawsuit.

“For instance, there is nothing ‘veiled’ about this press release,” Judge Watson wrote, quoting a Trump campaign document titled “Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.”

The first travel ban underwent modifications after it was struck down in early February on constitutional grounds. The Trump administration had hoped the second iteration, which affects travelers and refugees from six majority-Muslim countries, would stand up in court.

Speaking at a Tennessee rally Wednesday evening, Trump called Judge Watson’s decision “unprecedented judicial overreach.” Watch his remarks below:

The revised travel ban would have gone into effect at the close of the day Wednesday.

The American Civil Liberties Union cheered the news on Twitter:

—Posted by Emma Niles

 Wait, before you go…

If you're reading this, you probably already know that non-profit, independent journalism is under threat worldwide. Independent news sites are overshadowed by larger heavily funded mainstream media that inundate us with hype and noise that barely scratch the surface. We believe that our readers deserve to know the full story. Truthdig writers bravely dig beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that tells you what’s really happening and who’s rolling up their sleeves to do something about it.

Like you, we believe a well-informed public that doesn’t have blind faith in the status quo can help change the world. Your contribution of as little as $5 monthly or $35 annually will make you a groundbreaking member and lays the foundation of our work.

Support Truthdig
In this Article:
#donald trump#hawaii#immigration#muslim ban#national#politics#travel ban#trump administration#usa