美国国家公共电台 NPR Trump Travel Ban Blocked Nationwide By Federal Judge In Hawaii

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

President Trump 1's revised travel ban is set to take effect just after midnight. Before it does, immigrants - immigrant rights activists 2 are asking courts across the country to block the order again. The measure signed by the president last week temporarily halts the U.S. refugee program in addition to travel from six majority Muslim countries. We expect at least one judge to rule today.

And NPR's Joel Rose joins us now with the latest. And, Joel, a federal judge in Maryland heard the first case this morning. Can you tell us what happened there?

JOEL ROSE, BYLINE 3: Sure. That case was brought by a refugee resettlement - by several refugee resettlement agencies and the ACLU. They argue that this is a Muslim ban like the one that candidate Trump talked about when he proposed a total shutdown of Muslims coming into the U.S., and they argue that the courts should take that into consideration. Mark Hetfield is the CEO of HIAS, the Jewish communities refugee resettlement organization, and one of the plaintiffs. Let's listen.

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MARK HETFIELD: You have to look at the statements that were made that led up to this ban. And candidate Trump was very clear what he was going to do, and he did it after being in office only for one week. And then he issues a second ban, which is almost the exact same effect as the first ban.

ROSE: Lawyers from the Department of Justice dispute that. They say the second travel ban is, quote, "substantially different" from the one that was blocked by a federal judge last month, and they also deny any religious basis for the ban. They say it's intended to protect national security - that the president is concerned about preventing the entrance of, quote, "radical 4 Islamic terrorists."

The DOJ says that these six countries included in the travel ban are either considered sponsors of terror or have harbored terrorists and that it is perfectly 5 legal for the president to do this regardless of what he said during the campaign. The judge said he would rule soon but not necessarily today.

CORNISH: Now, is a judge in Washington state that blocked President Trump's first executive order on these travel restrictions 6 last month - what's the difference between that and this case?

ROSE: That case was a challenge led by the state of Washington, and it's since been joined by about half a dozen other states, including New York and California. And they want that judge, James Robart, to extend the injunction to cover the second travel ban.

The Department of Justice argues against that because they say this new executive order is narrower in a few important ways. There are only six countries on the list. Iraq is off. Green card holders 7, lawful 8 permanent residents are exempt 9. Syrian refugees are not banned indefinitely, only for 120 days like all refugees. And people can apply for a waiver on a case-by-case basis.

The judge has not ruled on that case yet. But Judge Robart is holding a hearing on a separate challenge to the travel ban. This is a case that was brought by four citizens or green card holders in Washington who argue that their family members would not be able to get visas under the new travel ban.

CORNISH: And finally, a hearing before a judge in Hawaii taking place this afternoon. What are you expecting there?

ROSE: Well, this is a case that was brought by the state of Hawaii and an imam who is the head of the only mosque 10 on the island of Oahu. And like the Washington case, the state is arguing here that the executive order discriminates 11 against Muslims. Hawaii says the travel ban would also hurt the state's economy, including its tourism industry.

The Department of Justice rejects that claim as just speculation 12. A lawyer for DOJ argued again that the travel ban is based on nationality not religion and, therefore, is perfectly legal. The judge in Hawaii says he will issue a ruling before midnight Eastern Time.

CORNISH: That's NPR's Joel Rose. Joel, thank you.

ROSE: You're welcome, Audie.

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