State Department reverses visa cancellations after 'so-called judge' halts Trump's Muslim ban

By Fusion Staff  |  February 4, 2017 | 4:46pm
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Donald Trump may not have much respect for a federal judge’s decision to halt his executive order blocking refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries, but the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security seem to have another view. You know, one based on respect for the law and the country’s separation of powers.

On Saturday morning, both agencies announced they are reversing visa cancellations for up to 60,000 people who had them “provisionally revoked” under Trump’s executive order.  The announcement follows a Friday night ruling by Bush-appointed federal judge James Robart that temporarily suspended Trump’s order, saying there is no apparent evidence that would protect the United States from attack.

“We have reversed the provisional revocation of visas under Executive Order 13769. Those individuals with visas that were not physically cancelled may now travel if the visa is otherwise valid. We are working closely with the Department of Homeland Security and our legal teams,” a State Department official stated on Saturday, according to BuzzFeed.

According to CNN, DHS acting press secretary Gillian Christensen confirmed the announcement:

In accordance with the judge’s ruling, DHS has suspended any and all actions implementing the affected sections of the Executive Order entitled, ‘Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States.’ This includes actions to suspend passenger system rules that flag travelers for operational action subject to the Executive Order.

Following Friday night’s ruling, issued by the Federal District Court for the Western District of Washington, airlines quickly announced they would allow refugees in possession of U.S. visas to travel.

That didn’t stop Trump from attempting to downplay the court order, or from trying to bully the judge who issued it.

Trump was so upset, in fact, that he again bragged about winning the election.

White House officials said the Justice Department would respond “at the earliest possible time” by filing an emergency stay of Judge Robart’s ruling.

 
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