US court to decide Friday whether to ban citizens from seven countries
The United States Federal Court of Appeals (USC) heard on Tuesday (7) the government's arguments in favor of reinstating the ban on entry into the country for refugees and citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries; the court also heard the reasons of the Washington state attorney general, responsible for the legal challenge that put Donald Trump on the defensive for the first time since he assumed the presidency of the United States on January 20.
José Romildo - Correspondent for Agência Brasil
The United States Federal Court of Appeals (US) heard on Tuesday (7) the government's arguments in favor of reinstating the ban on entry into the country for refugees and citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries. The court also heard the arguments of the Washington state attorney general, responsible for the legal challenge that put Donald Trump on the defensive for the first time since he took office as President of the United States on January 20.
At the end of the hearing, the committee announced that it must decide this week whether to uphold the lower court's decision, which suspended the measure, or reinstate the ban on the entry of refugees and citizens from Muslim-majority nations. Because this is a matter dominating US interest, the hearing, held in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, California, was broadcast live nationwide.
Based on the tone of the questions, journalists and commentators on television networks said that the commission, made up of three judges, expressed skepticism about the need to prohibit people from certain countries and who profess a particular religion from entering the U.S. The judges subjected a Justice Department lawyer to tough questioning, challenging the limits of President Donald Trump's power to temporarily block, by executive order, the entry into U.S. territory of refugees and citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries. The judges not only made demands but also requested evidence from the lawyer showing the security reasons that led the Executive to adopt the measure.
The committee also incisively questioned the attitude of the Washington state attorney general, who filed a lawsuit—and was successful in a lower court—aiming to halt Trump's order.
Executive note
The executive order signed by Trump, announced at the Pentagon on January 27th, suspends the entire United States refugee admission system for 120 days. It also suspends the Syrian refugee program indefinitely and bans entry into the United States for 90 days for people from seven predominantly Muslim countries – Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. Trump's order was the first to be overturned by a lower court. The ban on entry for refugees and citizens of Muslim-majority countries also sparked a protest movement in the United States by American citizens and immigrants in solidarity with those harmed by the order.
The three judges who make up the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals are: William C. Canby Jr., appointed by former President Jimmy Carter, Richard Clifton, appointed by former President George W. Bush, and Michelle Taryn Friedland, appointed by former President Barack Obama.