PALM BEACH, Fla. \u2014 President Donald Trump lashed out Saturday at \u201cthis so-called judge\u201d who put a nationwide hold on his executive order denying entry to the U. S. to refugees and to people from seven predominantly Muslim countries. The ruling set in motion another weekend of confusion and chaos around the country.
The White House pledged to swiftly appeal the federal judge\u2019s ruling late Friday, but that didn\u2019t appear to be enough for Trump, who vented his frustrations on Twitter.
The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!
\u2014 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2017
The government moved quickly to comply with the judge\u2019s order. The State Department reversed visa cancellations for foreigners, and the Homeland Security Department said it\u2019s no longer directing airlines to prevent affected visa-holders from boarding U. S.-bound flights.
Up to 60,000 foreigners had their visas \u201cprovisionally revoked\u201d to comply with Trump\u2019s order, which the president has said will keep Americans safe at home by keeping potential terrorists from entering the country.
Trump also said Saturday on Twitter:
When a country is no longer able to say who can, and who cannot , come in & out, especially for reasons of safety &.security \u2013 big trouble!
\u2014 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2017
U. S. District Judge James Robart in Seattle ruled late Friday against government lawyers\u2019 claims that Washington state and Minnesota, which sued over the ban, lacked the legal grounds to challenge Trump\u2019s order. Robart said the states showed that their case was likely to succeed.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer responded that the Justice Department would appeal the \u201coutrageous\u201d order \u201cat the earliest possible time but then quickly issued an amended statement that deleted \u201coutrageous.\u201d
\u201cThe president\u2019s order is intended to protect the homeland and he has the constitutional authority and responsibility to protect the American people,\u201d Spicer said, calling the order both lawful and appropriate.
Trump billed the action as necessary to stop \u201cradical Islamic terrorists\u201d from coming to the U. S.
The order included a 90-day ban on travel to the U. S. by citizens of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen; a 120-day suspension of the U. S. refugee program; and an indefinite bar against admitting Syrian refugees. Robart\u2019s order did not address the Syrian ban.
The decision sparked protests nationwide and confusion at airports as some travelers were detained. More protests were planned for this weekend, including at Trump\u2019s estate in Palm Beach, Florida, where he is spending the weekend.
Last week, U. S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in New York issued an emergency order after lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union filed a court petition on behalf of people from the seven countries who were detained at airports nationwide as the ban took effect.
Donnelly\u2019s order addressed only a portion of Trump\u2019s order, and barred U. S. border agents from removing anyone who arrived in the U. S. with a valid visa from the seven countries. Robart\u2019s decision was more sweeping in scope.
Saturday was not the first instance of Trump criticizing a federal judge, a member of an independent branch of the government.
During the presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly criticized the federal judge who was presiding over a lawsuit brought by former students of Trump University. Trump claimed that U. S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who was born in Indiana, had an \u201cabsolute conflict\u201d in handling the case because he is \u201cof Mexican heritage.\u201d Trump launched his presidential campaign with a harsh description of Mexican immigrants as rapists and drug dealers.
Trump recently agreed to pay $25 million to settle the lawsuits against Trump University.<\/p>\n

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