The United States appeals court has rejected the Department of Justice's request for Donald Trump's controversial travel ban to be reinstated. Trump's executive order, which was signed last week, banned citizens from the Syria, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Yemen, Libya and Somalia, but was temporarily blocked by a Seattle judge.
High court rules against Trump administration
The ninth circuit of US court appeals in San Fransisco made the judgement on Sunday morning. The trump administration is preparing a counter-response to be filed on Monday afternoon. The court's denial of the Department of Justice's response is the precursor to legal wranglings spilling into next week.
After news of the unsuccessful appeal broke, Trump told reporters: 'We will win. We have to win, for the safety of our country'. Judge James Robart, the judge who blocked Trump's executive order, questioned whether the decision to block citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries was constitutional.
The Department of Justice's filing against Judge Robart stated that his decision posed 'immediate harm' to the US public whilst second-guessing the President's judgement on issues of national security. The filing argued that Judge Robart's decision violated the authority of the President.
Trump takes to Twitter
Earlier in the day, Donald Trump tweeted: 'The opinion of this so-called judge [Judge Robart], which essentially takes law enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous, and it will be overturned as soon as possible!' Trump continued to defend his executive order throughout Saturday.
Trump tweeted: “He opens up our country to lots of potential terrorists and others that do not have America's best interests at heart. Bad people are very happy with this decision!”
Two weeks into the job, the Trump administration has already created a showdown between state and judiciary over a policy that Trump promised throughout his campaign.
According to airport officials, refugees and travellers from the banned countries scrambled to get flights to quickly enter the US. Throughout the week, European leaders condemned Trump's executive order as 'inhumane and irresponsible'.