WEB DESK
The US government has asked the Hawaiian federal judge to clarify his order blocking President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban arguing that it should not apply to a global freeze on refugees entering the United States. A Justice Department motion filed on Friday asks US District Judge Derrick Watson to clarify that the temporary restraining order applies only to the president’s temporary ban on travel from six Muslim countries. It argued that the lawsuit failed to meaningfully challenge another section of Mr Trump’s order that bars refugees from traveling to US for 120 days and caps the number that will be allowed into the US this fiscal year at 50,000 – a drop of nearly half. It said, the cap draws no distinction whatsoever on the basis of religion.
Watson had issued a ruling on Wednesday after Hawaii requested he block enforcement of Mr Trump’s executive order, which the government calls a national security measure and critics call an unconstitutional and bigoted attempt to bar Muslims from entering the country. President Trump called the ruling an example of unprecedented judicial overreach and has indicated it will be appealed. Similar cases are being heard in federal courts in Washington state and Maryland. In all, more than half a dozen states are trying to block the travel ban.
