Hawaii judge halts Trump's new travel ban

A federal judge in Hawaii has issued an emergency halt to President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban, blocking it hours before it was due to come into effect.

The new order would have placed a 90-day restriction on people from six mainly Muslim nations – Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen – and a 120-day ban on refugees.

Iraq was removed from the previous list because its government boosted visa screening and data sharing, White House officials said.

Opposers say the revised version still violates the due process rights of individuals with valid residency papers and visas and is still discriminatory.

Doug Chin who is an Attorney General on Hawaii explained why he supported the judge’s decision.

“It’s because it’s really something that hits us to the core. If you have an order that’s coming out there that’s taking us back half a century to a time when there was discrimination by nations of origin or by religion, that’s something that we have to speak up against.”

President Trump insists he is trying to stop terrorists from entering the US and described the ruling as “unprecedented judicial overreach”.

“This ruling makes us look weak – which by the way, we no longer are. Believe me. Just look at our borders. We’re going to fight this terrible ruling, we’re going to take our case as far up as it needs to go, including all the way up to the Supreme Court.”

Big salute to Hawaii judge for blocking Trump's “travel ban.”
As an Afghanistan veteran I say #NoBanNoWallNoRaids #VetsVsHate pic.twitter.com/23aMPZKmQJ

— Perry O'Brien (@Perry_OB) March 16, 2017

Last week there were more protests in Washington against Trump’s latest executive order. The earlier version, issued in late January, sparked anger and confusion and that time was blocked by a judge in Seattle.