The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a block on the Trump administration’s enforcement of his controversial immigration ban.
The panel of three judges in the San Francisco-based court decisively rejected the Department of Justice’s national security arguments Thursday evening, saying that the government had failed to show that anyone from the banned seven countries had perpetrated a terrorist attack in U.S., Reuters reports.
“We hold that the Government has not shown a likelihood of success on the merits of its appeal, nor has it shown that failure to enter a stay would cause irreparable injury, and we therefore deny its emergency motion for a stay,” the three judges wrote.
Following the highest-profile legal defeat of his ban, the president quickly took to Twitter to denounce the decision:
The 9th Circuit ruling upholds Judge James Robart’s suspension of the order last week. The states of Washington and Minnesota challenged the order soon after it was announced, arguing that it violated constitutional protections against religious discrimination.
What’s next for the fight against the immigration ban? An appeal of today’s ruling is expected, as Trump’s tweet indicated. This will take the legal case all the way up to the Supreme Court.
“If the [Supreme Court] deadlocks in a 4-4 vote on whether or not to uphold Robart’s temporary restraining order, the Ninth Circuit’s decision will stand,” according to The Atlantic. “Both parties will also return to the federal district court in Seattle, where Robart will next consider a full injunction against enforcing the executive order for the duration of the trial.
Hillary Clinton, who has remained relatively silent since her election loss, sent out a simple, but pointed “3-0” tweet.
Here are other reactions pouring in online:
We’ll keep you updated on the latest.
