Federal Judge In Hawaii Puts Trump's Revised Travel Ban On Hold Nationwide
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Just hours before President Donald Trump's revised travel ban was to go into effect, a federal judge in Hawaii put it on hold.
U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson granted a temporary restraining order against key parts of Trump's executive order on immigration. The judge's ruling prevents Trump's executive order from going into effect as planned.
The judge states that the record before the court "includes significant and unrebutted evidence of religious animus driving the promulgation of the Executive Order and its related predecessor."
Watson writes that "the plaintiffs have met their burden of establishing a strong likelihood of success on the merits of their Establishment Clause claim, that irreparable injury is likely if the requested relief is not issued..."
Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, New York, Maryland and California have also challenged the ban, which wpuld temporarily shut down the U.S. refugee program, as well as bar new visas for people from six predominantly Muslim nations.
California's top leaders have been very outspoken about the travel ban.
Following the judge's ruling on Wednesday, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said in a statement, "The Trump Administration's repackaging did nothing to change the immoral, unconstitutional and dangerous goals of their Muslim and refugee ban. It was the same ban, driven by the same dangerous discrimination, and today, it met the same defeat in court."
U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) took to Twitter following the ruling, saying, "How many times is he going to lose before he stops trying to shut our doors on those fleeing war and violence?"
The White House did not immediately respond to the ruling Wednesday evening.
By Hannah Albarazi - Follow her on Twitter: @hannahalbarazi.