Lacks evidence and explanation, appeals court says.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday refused to reinstate President Donald Trump’s controversial executive order on travel ban. The president had signed an executive order on January 27 banning citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States.
The order was thrown out by District Court Judge James L. Robart three days later, and the administration challenged the ruling in the Appeals court.
In its 29-page order, the three-judge panel observed that the government has failed to produce corroborating evidence in favor of the ban and could not establish that individuals from these seven nations pose threat to the United States.
“Despite the district court’s and our own repeated invitations to explain the urgent need for the Executive Order to be placed immediately into effect, the Government submitted no evidence to rebut the States’ argument that the district court’s order merely returned the nation temporarily to the position it has occupied for many previous years. The Government has pointed to no evidence that any alien from any of the countries named in the Order has perpetrated a terrorist attack in the United States.7 Rather than present evidence to explain the need for the Executive Order, the Government has taken the position that we must not review its decision at all. We disagree, …”
On the argument that such a ban is in public interest, the judges noted that the public interest lies in favor of both sides. The public interest does call for national security; however, public also has an interest in “free flow of travel, in avoiding separation of families, and in freedom from discrimination.”
The decision also noticed that the government has not shown that a stay is necessary to avoid irreparable injury.
Trump’s executive order had resulted in immediate chaos among international travelers. More than a hundred thousand visas had been immediately revoked, according to the Justice Department; many people were prevented from traveling to the United States, while others were denied entry on arrival.
Trump immediately took to Twitter in response to the district appeals court order: “SEE YOU IN COURT, THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!”
SEE YOU IN COURT, THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2017
“It’s a political decision, we’re going to see them in court, and I look forward to doing that,” Trump told reporters in the White House Thursday. “It’s a decision that we’ll win, in my opinion, very easily.”
The Government will most likely ask the Supreme Court to decide on the travel ban.