Federal Judges Block Deportations, Challenge Trump's Refugee Executive Order
Two federal judges have halted progress on President Donald Trump's executive order that prohibits refugees from seven Muslim countries from entering the United States.
President Trump made good on his campaign promise to eradicate Islamic terrorism by signing an executive order that would indefinitely block Syrian refugees from coming to the U.S and temporarily banning immigrants from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
"We want to ensure that we are not admitting into our country the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas. We only want to admit those into our country who will support our country, and love deeply our people," Trump said.
However, Judge Ann Donnelly of the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn granted a request from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to stop deportations after ruling that those who would return to their home countries may risk injury.
The judge nominated by President Obama in 2015 said that "there is imminent danger that, absent the stay of removal, there will be substantial and irreparable injury to refugees, visa-holders, and other individuals from nations subject" to Trump's order.
Meanwhile, Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia issued a temporary restraining order to block for seven days the removal of any green-card holders being detained at Dulles International Airport, The Washington Post reports.
Brinkema also ordered that those who were detained in terminals be given access to a lawyer.
Similar rulings have been made in Massachusetts and Washington state.
The Department of Homeland Security released a statement they will continue to move forward with the executive action.
"President Trump's Executive Orders remain in place — prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the U.S. government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety," the statement said. "No foreign national in a foreign land, without ties to the United States, has any unfettered right to demand entry into the United States or to demand immigration benefits in the United States."
