Trump bid to restore travel ban rejected

05 February, Washington

The US federal appeals court has rejected the Trump administration’s request to reinstate a travel ban blocked by a federal judge on Friday.

The late night ruling means the travel ban will remain suspended until the full case has been heard.

The court gave the White House and the states challenging it a deadline of Monday to present more arguments.

In its appeal, the Justice Department said blocking the travel ban amounted to questioning President Trump’s judgment on national security risk. It also argued that Trump’s ban did not discriminate against freedom of religion rights because it was targeted at specific countries.

The ban envisages a 90-day visa suspension for anyone arriving from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

The directive also suspends the US Refugee Admissions Programme for 120 days, and places an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees. It has led to protests in US cities and around the world.