United States President Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban order was blocked by yet another federal judge on Thursday, reported AP. After a Hawaii judge put a stay on the order even before it could be implemented on Wednesday, a Maryland judge followed suit. The second order placed restrictions on people from six Muslim-majority countries, after the first order was also suspended by the judiciary.
The American Civil Liberities Union and other advocacy groups that work for immigrants and refugees had moved the Maryland court. The petitioners had held that the ban was discriminatory, even as the Trump administration said that it was meant to stop letting terrorists into the country.
Even though the government said the revised order was a watered down version of the first one, it failed to convince the Maryland judge. “Despite these changes, the history of public statements continues to provide a convincing case that the purpose of the Second Executive Order remains the realisation of the long-envisioned Muslim ban,” said Judge Theodore Chuang. The judge has granted a preliminary injunction on the order that is applicable for the whole country.
Trump had defended the first order and repeatedly said it was “not a Muslim ban”, but the restrictions brought in by his move had wreaked havoc on immigrant families, especially those with valid visas. Protests had been launched across the country, including at airports, against the travel ban. His executive order had also been criticised by politicians, activists, immigration advocates and even United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
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