President Trump's revision of his controversial executive order
imposing a travel and refugee ban on certain countries will get an
important legal test on Monday, when a federal appeals court in Virginia
weighs whether the administration overstepped its authority.
At issue is whether the ban violates the Religion Clause of the First Amendment, the Due Process Clause of the Fifth and 14th Amendments, and the ban on nationality discrimination in the issuance of immigrant visas contained in a 65-year-old congressional law.
The case will be a major test of presidential power, especially in the area of immigration.
The White House frames the issue as a temporary move involving national security. A coalition of groups in opposition call the order blatant religious discrimination, since the six countries involved have mostly Muslim populations: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
Nearly all of the 15 full-time judges on the Richmond-based 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals are expected to hear the case in a public oral argument, a move to expedite the issue eventually to the Supreme Court in coming months for final review. Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson, a conservative on bench, is expected to recuse since his son-in-law will be arguing the case for the Trump Justice Department. A majority of the active bench were nominated by Democratic presidents.
The Monday hearing will be the first of two appeals heard this month. The San Francisco-based 9th Circuit will review similar claims. Split rulings by these courts would mean an almost certain review by the Supreme Court. A nationwide injunction on enforcement of the "Executive Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States," ordered by federal judges in Maryland and Hawaii, remains in effect.
The International Refugee Assistance Project, one of the groups filing lawsuits against the Trump administration, ripped the order for its impact on refugees.
"The president's discriminatory executive order has trapped these vulnerable people in life-threatening conditions," said Rebecca Heller, IRAP's director whose group represents hundreds of “displaced families from Syria, Iraq, Somalia, and elsewhere."
At issue is whether the ban violates the Religion Clause of the First Amendment, the Due Process Clause of the Fifth and 14th Amendments, and the ban on nationality discrimination in the issuance of immigrant visas contained in a 65-year-old congressional law.
The case will be a major test of presidential power, especially in the area of immigration.
The White House frames the issue as a temporary move involving national security. A coalition of groups in opposition call the order blatant religious discrimination, since the six countries involved have mostly Muslim populations: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
Nearly all of the 15 full-time judges on the Richmond-based 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals are expected to hear the case in a public oral argument, a move to expedite the issue eventually to the Supreme Court in coming months for final review. Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson, a conservative on bench, is expected to recuse since his son-in-law will be arguing the case for the Trump Justice Department. A majority of the active bench were nominated by Democratic presidents.
The Monday hearing will be the first of two appeals heard this month. The San Francisco-based 9th Circuit will review similar claims. Split rulings by these courts would mean an almost certain review by the Supreme Court. A nationwide injunction on enforcement of the "Executive Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States," ordered by federal judges in Maryland and Hawaii, remains in effect.
The International Refugee Assistance Project, one of the groups filing lawsuits against the Trump administration, ripped the order for its impact on refugees.
"The president's discriminatory executive order has trapped these vulnerable people in life-threatening conditions," said Rebecca Heller, IRAP's director whose group represents hundreds of “displaced families from Syria, Iraq, Somalia, and elsewhere."
No comments:
Post a Comment