US: Donald Trump says he will restore the travel ban after federal judge blocks it
The president dubbed the ruling as ridiculous and argued that it 'takes law-enforcement away from our country'.
United States President Donald Trump on Saturday said he would overturn a legal ruling that suspended his immigration ban order on seven Muslim-majority countries. Besides, he called Judge James Robart, who had passed the restraining order on the travel ban, a “so-called” justice. “The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!,” Trump tweeted.
Trump’s statement comes hours after the federal judge in Seattle granted a temporary restraining order on the travel ban. Robart had ruled that executive order was unconstitutional. The court was moved by the state of Washington and Minnesota. The countries directly affected by the order are Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
After Robart’s ruling, airlines like Air France and Qatar Airways said they would allow people from those seven countries affected by Trump’s ban order to fly to US. “Nationals from the countries concerned are being authorised to fly once again to the United States, providing their papers and visas are in order,” Air France spokesperson Herve Erschler told BBC. Gulf carriers like Etihad and Emirates, Spain’s Iberia and Germany’s Lufthansa also followed suit, according to Reuters.
Around 60,000 visas have been revoked by the United States after Trump signed the order on January 27, the State Department had said on Friday. While announcing the travel ban, Trump had said that the step would protect the country from terror attacks. The development had sparked protests at airports across the country. It had also been criticised by activists and politicians around the world.