Did Judge Overstep His Authority? The Legal Battle over Trump Travel Order

A three-judge panel is set Monday to review President Donald Trump's controversial immigration orders.

Department of Justice attorneys argue that a federal judge overstepped his judicial authority when he lifted the travel restrictions.

The president's executive order temporarily banned visitors from seven Muslim majority countries with ties to terrorism, but a U.S. district judge in Seattle halted the travel restrictions.

So, Justice Department attorneys filed an emergency request asking that the president's travel order be reinstated, but a federal appeals court Sunday morning denied the request.

An outraged President Trump tweeted: "Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad!"

Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 5, 2017

On ABC's "This Week," Vice President Mike Pence said the president will continue to fight it out in the courts.

"President Trump has made it clear that our administration is going to put the safety and security of the American people first, and the executive order that he put into effect was legal," he insisted. "It was appropriate and our administration is going to be using all legal means at our disposal."

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will review legal briefs filed by both sides before it makes a final decision.

U.S. Department of Justice attorneys argue District Judge James Robart overstepped his judicial authority. His decision, they say, "harms the public" and "second guesses the president's national security judgment."

Those who oppose the travel restrictions--like Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif. -- say Trump overstepped his executive authority.

"The president is not a dictator. The framers of our Constitution wanted a strong Congress for the very reason that most of these kinds of things should be done within the scope of lawmaking," she said.

Meanwhile, travelers from the seven nations originally restricted by Trump started pouring into the United States over the weekend.

Stuck at an airport in Djibouti, 12-year-old Eman Ali and her father, Ahmed, finally gained entry into the United States in San Francisco. They are immigrants from Yemen, a country with strong jihadist groups.

"Some people they are bad; that doesn't make everybody bad," said Ahmed Ali.

And regardless of the final 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling --win or lose for the president--this immigration battle is likely to end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.