Travel ban remains on hold while court challenge proceeds

A federal judge in Hawaii extended his injunction against President Donald Trump’s travel ban late yesterday, setting the stage for an appeal. As he did when he temporarily blocked the ban earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson said Hawaii made a compelling case that the state’s universities and tourism industry would suffer from the ban, which temporarily blocks travel and immigration from six majority-Muslim nations. Watson’s block on the order will remain in effect until the courts rule on the ban’s constitutionality. Another court in Maryland also blocked the travel ban, and the Trump administration has appealed that ruling to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Department of Justice issued a strong rebuke of Watson’s ruling, hinting at a planned appeal: “The president’s executive order falls squarely within his lawful authority in seeking to protect our nation’s security, and the department will continue to defend this executive order in the courts.”

The Associated Press contributed to the report.