Federal Judge in Hawaii Trumps Travel Ban

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Hawaii Attorney General Douglas Chin, left, and Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum speak at a press conference outside the federal courthouse, Wednesday, March 15, 2107, in Honolulu. Hearings were scheduled Wednesday in Maryland, Washington state and Hawaii on President Donald Trump's travel ban. The lawsuit claims the ban harms Hawaii by highlighting the state's dependence on international travelers, its ethnic diversity and its welcoming reputation as the Aloha State. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)
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A federal judge in Hawaii on Wednesday extended his previous ruling blocking President Donald Trump’s so-called “travel ban” would have restricted entry to the United States by refugees and people from some predominantly Muslim countries.

District Judge Derrick Watson granted a motion by the state to turn his temporary restraining order blocking Trump’s revised executive order into a preliminary injunction, extending the ban on enforcement while the case moves forward. Trump’s executive orders restricting entry to the United States of nationals from several predominantly Muslim countries has been criticized as effectively a “Muslim ban,” something Trump has denied. Trump has said the orders were necessary to protect Americans from terrorism and campaigned on a pledge for “extreme vetting” of foreigners seeking to enter the country.

“We do not fault President Trump for being politically incorrect. We fault him for being constitutionally incorrect,” Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin said in his opening arguments to the court Wednesday, according to NBC affiliate Hawaii News Now. Watson, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, on March 15 issued a temporary restraining order that blocked implementation of Trump’s revised executive order, which the president issued after a federal judge in Washington blocked his first order and after an appeals court refused to reinstate it.

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