A US federal judge in Hawaii halted President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban on Wednesday, only hours before it was set to go into effect early Thursday.
US District Judge Derrick Watson put an emergency stop on Trump’s executive order, which will bar refugees and nationals of six Muslim-majority countries from entering the US for up to four months.
President Trump decried the ruling as he spoke at a rally in Nashville on Wednesday evening, claiming it as “the bad, the sad news.”
“This is, in the opinion of many, an unprecedented judicial overreach,” he added, insisting he would take the case as far as it needs to go, including to the Supreme Court.
Man holding poster protesting against Trump's travel ban/CFP Photo
Trump has said the ban is necessary to ensure national security, but critics have argued it targets Muslims.
Over half a dozen states so far have tried to stop the travel ban, and federal courts in Maryland, Washington state and Hawaii heard arguments on Wednesday about whether it should be put into practice.
The president’s new executive order will suspend the US refugee program for 120 days and halt the issuance of new visas to citizens from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days.
A first travel ban, signed by Trump on January 27, had caused chaos at airports around the US after it was hastily implemented. It was eventually halted by a federal judge.
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