by Itunuoluwa Adebo
President Donald Trump’s travel ban is back Monday with a high-stakes legal battle in front of a dozen federal judges in Richmond, Virginia.
The March order was the president’s second effort on travel restrictions. The first which was issued Jan. 27, led to chaos and protests at airports before being blocked by courts. The second order was intended to overcome the legal problems posed by the original ban, but was also blocked by judges before it could go into effect March 16.
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The lawsuit said the order violates federal immigration law and a section of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment that prohibits government discrimination on the basis of religion. The administration said in court papers that the claims are “speculative and not ripe” with none of them being able to show a “concrete, imminent injury” traceable to the order.
Government lawyers said the court should not base its findings on any comments made by the President during the 2016 election campaign about his intention to impose a so-called Muslim ban because the statements were made before he was sworn in as president on Jan. 20.
Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union, representing the challengers, said in court papers that Trump’s comments before the election cannot be ignored. “President Trump publicly committed himself to an indefensible goal: banning Muslims from coming to the United States,” the ACLU lawyers wrote. Whatever the court rules, the Supreme court is likely to make the final decision case.
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