Travelers granted entry as White House readies appeal

The Justice Department has until 6 p.m. today to file an official appeal of a temporary injunction against President Donald Trump’s immigration executive order.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals turned down a White House request over the weekend to immediately set aside the nationwide restraining order, which blocks Trump’s temporary ban on refugees and travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.

As of this morning, the State Department is allowing in travelers with valid visas, including refugees who were approved for travel before Trump signed his order. The Homeland Security Department is no longer directing airlines to bar affected visa-holders from boarding U.S.-bound planes.

U.S. District Judge James Robart, an appointee of President George W. Bush, issued the injunction late Friday, saying a lawsuit by Washington state and Minnesota against the immigration actions had a good chance of succeeding. This morning, the states filed arguments with the appeals court saying reinstating the ban would disrupt lives and cripple U.S. counterterrorism partnerships around the world without making the nation safer. Former secretaries of state John Kerry and Madeleine Albright filed briefs in favor of the injunction, too.

“Blanket bans of certain countries or classes of people are beneath the dignity of the nation and Constitution that we each took oaths to protect,” the filing stated.

Trump throughout the weekend tweeted dismay at Robart’s ruling, saying Sunday, “Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad!” The executive orders followed campaign promises by Trump to keep criminals and terrorists from immigrating to the country. The temporary ban on refugees and travelers from unstable countries was designed to give federal agencies time to re-evaluate and strengthen their vetting procedures.

Critics from both parties responded to Trump’s tweets, particularly one in which the president called Robert a “so-called judge.”

“We don’t have so-called judges,” said Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb. “We don’t have so-called senators. We don’t have so-called presidents. We have people from three different branches of government who take an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said she expected the Supreme Court to eventually weigh the injunction, and “probably some judgments will be made whether this president has exceeded his authority or not.”