Federal judge in Virginia refuses to block revised travel ban
President Donald Trump. Shutterstock.com.
A federal judge in Virginia on Friday refused to block President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban.
The decision (PDF) by U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga of Alexandria is contrary to rulings by judges in Hawaii and Maryland, who both issued nationwide injunctions that blocked enforcement of at least some sections of the ban. CNN, BuzzFeed News, Bloomberg News and the Washington Post covered Trenga’s decision.
Trenga cited provisions in the new ban. “This court is no longer faced with a facially discriminatory order coupled with contemporaneous statements suggesting discriminatory intent,” he wrote.
Trump’s revised order had a 90-day ban on entry into the United States by immigrants from six majority-Muslim countries. But it removed a seventh country—Iraq—from the list. Also, the revised order no longer prohibited entry by lawful permanent residents and current visa holders and allows case-by-case waivers. The revised order also removed a preference for religious minorities in their home countries, which would have benefited Christians in Muslim-majority countries, and removed a complete ban on Syrian refugees.
Trenga said the new order no longer mentions religion as a criterion, identifies national security reasons for the six-country ban, and allows waivers.
The plaintiffs plan to appeal to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Richmond, Virginia. The injunction by the Maryland judge also is being appealed to the 4th Circuit.
The case before Trenga is Sarsour v. Trump.
