| SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON
SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday cast his travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries as a key element of national security, hours before a federal appeals court is set to consider his most divisive action since taking office last month.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco will hear arguments later in the day from Justice Department lawyers and opposing attorneys for the states of Washington and Minnesota about whether to restore the ban.
“A ruling is not expected to come down today, but probably this week,” the court wrote in an media advisory.
At an event with sheriffs at the White House, Trump said:
“I actually can’t believe that we’re having to fight to protect the security, in a court system, to protect the security of our nation.”
The Islamic State militant group had threatened “to infiltrate the United States and other countries through the migration,” he said, without elaborating. “And then we’re not allowed to be tough on the people coming in? Explain that one.”
Trump’s Jan. 27 executive order barred entry for citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days and imposed a 120-day halt on all refugees.
A federal judge in Seattle, responding to a challenge by Washington state, suspended the order last Friday. U.S. government figures released on Tuesday showed the United States admitted 113 refugees on Monday, including 100 Syrians. The United Nations said on Monday that about 2,000 refugees were ready to travel to the United States.
Source: Court hearing looms on Trump travel ban, but no decision Tuesday | Reuters
