Federal Judges Refuse to Reinstate Trump's Immigration Ban

Since Donald Trump was sworn into office on January 20, he has been trying to make good on many campaign promises that some voters thought he was just bluffing on. One of the many promises he made was to secure the country from terrorist attacks by instating an executive order that halts the U.S. refugee resettlement program for four months, bans Syrians from taking refuge in the United States and temporarily blocks people from a handful of countries (Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Iran) from entering the U.S. in general. The order ironically was put in place on Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27. The ban sparked national outrage and people and celebrities alike quickly took to the streets in protests and strikes to show the president that we will not be silent on such a discriminatory and pressing matter. Now it looks like the courts have sided with the people because on February 3 judge James Robart put a temporary nationwide restraining order on the travel ban. In response Trump announced that he will be appealing the halt on his executive order and on January 9 his request was unanimously rejected by a federal appeals court panel. Of course Donald Trump used his twitter fingers to address the situation by tweeting “SEE YOU IN COURT, THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE,” prompting us to believe Trump’s administration will ask the Supreme Court to intervene. The Supreme Court is currently shorthanded with only eight justices in chair, this means that if there is a split decision the ruling of the lower court will be upheld. Although there are some exceptions that can be made in the travel ban, on a case by case basis, the order has sparked mass confusion on who it affects. In addition to protests and strikes companies have made pledges to hire refugees already in the country and donate to refugee relief funds. Many lawyers are also doing pro bono work for individuals and families affected, bringing the country closer and closer together. What is your opinion on Trump’s travel ban? Should we keep it or do away with it?

By Rikkaya Wilson