Because his beloved Muslim travel ban is obviously the hill that President Donald Trump wants to die on, White House press secretary Sean Spicer confirmed Thursday that the administration plans to appeal the rulings from two federal judges that have temporarily blocked the revised travel ban.
As previously reported on The Root, a federal judge in Hawaii issued a ruling Wednesday that temporarily blocked the executive order nationwide, and CNN reports that a federal judge in Maryland followed suit and specifically blocked the 90-day ban on immigration for citizens of six Muslim-majority countries.
In both cases, the judges cited Trump’s statements about Muslims during his presidential campaign as part of their rulings, specifically comments made by the president and one of his top policy advisers, Stephen Miller.
According to CNN, Spicer said the administration will appeal the Maryland decision to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals “soon” and will seek clarification on the Hawaii ruling before going before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
From CNN:
Unlike the previous executive order, the new one removed Iraq from the list of banned countries, exempted those with green cards and visas and removed a provision that arguably prioritizes certain religious minorities.
The new ban was announced earlier this month and was set to take effect Thursday. It would have banned people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen from entering the US for 90 days and all refugees for 120 days.
Meanwhile, immigration advocates were pleased with the rulings.
ACLU attorney Omar Jadwat said, “The Constitution has once again put the brakes on President Trump’s disgraceful and discriminatory ban. We are pleased but not surprised by this latest development and will continue working to ensure the Muslim ban never takes effect. “
Jadwat was one of the attorneys who argued the case in Maryland on Wednesday.
According to CNN, a federal judge in Washington state is in the process of evaluating challenges to the revised travel ban, but the ruling may be deferred in light of the nationwide ruling in Hawaii.
Read more at CNN.