White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer says the administration is confident that President Donald Trump’s travel ban will be upheld by the Supreme Court after its latest legal blow.
The Latest on a U. S. appeals court keeping President Donald Trump’s travel ban blocked (all times local) :
3: 40 p.m.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions says he disagrees with a U. S. appeals court’s decision to keep blocking President Donald Trump’s travel ban.
Sessions said Monday that the ban is necessary to protect national security. He says the president was within his lawful authority to enact the temporary ban on visitors from six Muslim-majority nations.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a decision blocking the ban and said the president violated U. S. immigration law.
Sessions says the court’s decision “has a chilling effect on security operations overall.”
He says the ban should be restored “until we have the ability accurately and responsibly to vet those seeking entry here.”
He also is reiterating the Trump administration’s argument that the ban isn’t based on religion, but safety concerns.
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12: 15 p.m.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer says the administration is confident that President Donald Trump’s travel ban will be upheld by the Supreme Court after its latest legal blow.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a decision blocking the temporary ban on visitors from six Muslim-majority nations. The ruling Monday says the president violated U. S. immigration law.
Spicer told reporters that the White House is reviewing the opinion but maintains the order is “fully lawful.”
He says “these are very dangerous times” and the U. S. needs “every available tool at our disposal to prevent terrorists from entering the United States and committing acts of bloodshed and violence.”
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10: 15 a.m.
Another federal appeals court has upheld a decision blocking President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban.
The ruling Monday from a unanimous three-judge panel of the 9th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals deals the administration another legal defeat as the Supreme Court considers a separate case on the issue.
The judges say the president violated U. S. immigration law by discriminating against people based on their nationality and that Trump failed to show their entry into the country would hurt American interests.
They didn’t rule on whether the travel ban violated the Constitution’s ban on the government officially favoring or disfavoring any religion.
The 4th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia also ruled against the travel ban May 25. The administration has appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court.
