IMMIGRATION/LEGAL/TRAVEL BAN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A U.S. judge on Monday [10-16-17] questioned attorneys defending the Trump administration about a classified report the government is using to justify its latest ban on citizens of some countries from entering the United States.
U.S. District Court Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland heard arguments for and against President Donald Trump’s new travel ban, set to take effect on Wednesday. It indefinitely limits travel from Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad and North Korea. Certain government officials from Venezuela were also barred.
All those countries except Chad, North Korea and Venezuela were included in two earlier temporary versions of the travel ban, which Trump’s opponents called thinly veiled attempts to fulfill his campaign pledge of a ‘total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.’
Lawyers for advocacy groups including the International Refugee Assistance Project, Iranian Alliances Across Borders and the Council on American-Islamic Relations urged Chuang to block implementation of what critics call Trump’s ‘Muslim ban.’
Opponents say the ban violates the U.S. Constitution because it discriminates against Muslims while overstepping the bounds of U.S. immigration law by discriminating by nationality. Trump has said the restrictions are needed to tighten security and prevent terrorist attacks.”
-Yenganeh Torbati, “U.S. judge questions government on Trump’s latest travel ban,” Reuters, Oct. 16, 2017 01:37pm