Second Appeals Court Strikes Down Trump Travel Ban

The Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order temporarily banning travel from eight countries recognized as state sponsors of terrorism: North Korea, Venezuela, Somalia, Chad, Yemen, Libya, Syria, and Iran.

This marks the second time a federal appeals court has overruled the ban; the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a similar ruling last year, and an appeal from their decision has already been accepted by the United States Supreme Court.

In the 9-4 ruling, the panel of appeals judges sitting en banc determined that, after taking into account statements made by Trump Administration officials and surrounding discussion about the travel ban, that the action was unduly restrictive to Islamic travelers, and that it was “unconstitutionally tainted with animus towards Islam.”

The Trump Administration argued that, because the new ban considered only six majority Muslim countries, and featured at least two countries that did not have a religious majority — North Korea and Venezuela — that it was not unconstitutionally restrictive. Immigration from Venezuela was still allowed, and the United States is still able to issue student visas to visitors from Iran, Somalia, Yemen, Libya, and Chad, provided applicants have a sponsoring educational institution.

North Korea is the only country for whom all travel and immigration is completely banned. (Read more from “Second Appeals Court Strikes Down Trump Travel Ban” HERE)

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