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In yet another setback to Trump travel ban, a federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction barring the Trump administration from implementing its travel ban in Virginia. It adds to the already existing judicial ruling in place challenging the ban’s constitutionality. Trump issued an executive order in January barring people from seven predominantly Muslim countries from US for 90 days and halting refugee program for 4 months. The order implemented blanket ban of all Syrian refugees until certain changes have been made in refugee program.
The new ruling that ban can’t be enforced in Virginia came after 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco refused to lift a nationwide freeze on the president’s executive order in a separate suit by Washington and Minnesota. The rulings against the Republican president take the controversial ban issue a step closer to possible Supreme Court review. Legal challenges to the ban have also been filed in Brooklyn, New York, Washington, D.C, and Maryland.
Though the ruling in Virginia will be applicable to state residents and institutions only, it bolsters the previous rulings against the travel ban ordered in the Washington case and multiplies hurdles for Trump in fulfilling a campaign promise to shut US borders to countries with ties to terrorism.
US District Judge Leonie Brinkema said that maximum power does not mean absolute power, and every presidential action must comply with limits set by Constitution. The judge rejected the argument saying the government has responded with no evidence except its executive order to support its immigration and travel restrictions.
Trump executive order created confusion and sowed chaos worldwide. It threw US airports into turmoil. US-bound passengers learned only upon landing that they couldn’t leave arrival terminals. Many were turned back as spontaneous protests erupted outside customs areas in New York, Washington, Chicago, Dallas and elsewhere. Trump executive order roiled global politics. American values took a beating at Trump’s hand.
Undoubtedly, the ban harmed the constitutional rights of lawful immigrant and non-immigrant residents. There is ample evidence that the executive order is simply Trump’s way of following through on a campaign promise to ban Muslims. And any law if it is designed to harm a religion or advanced a religion, it is unconstitutional.
On the other hand, Justice Department lawyer based his argument on the fact that Congress has given the president discretion to decide the entry of any class of aliens.
Virginia ruling is significant from a legal standpoint. It holds that an unconstitutional religious bias is at the heart of the travel ban, and therefore it violates First Amendment prohibitions on favoring one religion over another.
What can be inferred from the rulings is that US administration has to clarify about whether Trump’s executive order was a veiled attempt to ban Muslims from the US. There is news account where Trump adviser Rudy Giuliani said the executive order is an effort to find a legal way for Trump to be able to impose his Muslim ban. There are other evidences too that show that this ban was conceived in religious bigotry. Trump himself once said that he wanted to help Christian refugees first as they are the most persecuted lot. This throws a harsh light on Trump’s understanding of the ground realities in war-torn countries. Whatever it is, the travel ban is surely un-American.