A federal appeals court Thursday refused to let President Trump reinstitute a temporary ban on travelers from seven majority-Muslim nations, ruling that the executive order violates due process rights of people affected without a justifiable national security basis.
The quick, unanimous decision from a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit could lead to a showdown at the Supreme Court, unless the administration agrees to dial back the travel ban or try its case before a federal judge in Seattle who ordered it stopped last week.
The Justice Department was reviewing the decision Thursday evening, but Trump indicated more appeals are coming.
“SEE YOU IN COURT, THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!” he tweeted minutes after the ruling was released.
The three-judge panel said that the president’s claim of ultimate authority over foreign policy was inadequate. “Although courts owe considerable deference to the President’s policy determinations with respect to immigration and national security, it is beyond question that the federal judiciary retains the authority to adjudicate constitutional challenges to executive action,” they said.
What would be even better than the Supreme Court dealing the death blow would be if they refused to even hear the case.