The administration of President Donald Trump has announced to comply with a federal judge’s order halting its travel ban, despite the fact that Trump has questioned the judge’s ruling.
“We have reversed the provisional revocation of visas under” Trump’s executive order, a US State Department spokesperson said on Saturday. “Those individuals with visas that were not physically cancelled may now travel if the visa is otherwise valid.”
The State Department said it was reversing the cancellation of visas, 60,000 — according to some reports, more than 100, 000 — of which were revoked after Trump’s last week directive.
The Department of Homeland Security announced to roll back all actions which were taken to implement Trump’s controversial travel ban on Muslims from seven countries.
Department of Homeland Security personnel “will resume inspection of travelers in accordance with standard policy and procedure.”
People affected by the travel ban treated news of the suspension with suspicions as airlines started allowing them to board flights to America on Saturday.
On Friday, US District Court Judge James Robart of Seattle, Washington, ruled in favor of a lawsuit seeking to overturn the presidential order that blocks the entry of citizens from seven predominately Muslim countries.
The ruling was broader than similar ones before it, and represents the most severe legal blow to Trump’s contentious action.
In a series of tweets early on Saturday morning, Trump insulted Robart, calling him a “so-called judge,” and threatened to overturn his judgment.
“The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!” he tweeted,after posting several other tweets defending his travel ban.
Trump’s tweets drew a swift condemnation from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“The President’s attack on Judge James Robart, a Bush appointee who passed with 99 votes, shows a disdain for an independent judiciary that doesn’t always bend to his wishes and a continued lack of respect for the Constitution, making it more important that the Supreme Court serve as an independent check on the administration,” Schumer said.
“With each action testing the Constitution, and each personal attack on a judge, President Trump raises the bar even higher for Judge Gorsuch’s nomination to serve on the Supreme Court. His ability to be an independent check will be front and center throughout the confirmation process,” he stated.
Trump signed the executive order on January 27 that imposed a temporary travel ban on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and placed an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees. The move also suspended admission of all refugees for 120 days.
Trump has come under immense pressure from politicians and rights groups to rescind the Muslim ban.
The measure has also created a global backlash with a growing number of countries, including long-standing US allies, criticizing the curbs as discriminatory and divisive.
Tens of thousands of people held massive demonstrations in London, Berlin, Paris, Sydney, Jakarta, Manila, and other world cities outside US embassies and diplomatic missions on Saturday to protest against Trump’s contentious ban.
A German weekly magazine went on to publish a striking cartoon of Trump on its cover, portraying him as a terrorist, who beheaded the Statue of Liberty while shouting “America First.”
On the cover of its Friday edition, Der Spiegel depicted the cartoon figure of Trump with a bloodied knife in one hand and the bleeding head of Lady Liberty in the other. – Press TV.
