A US appeals court has rejected a bid to reinstate President Donald Trump's ban on visitors from seven mainly Muslim countries.

The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals said it would not block a lower-court ruling that brought the president's executive order to a halt.

Mr Trump made the order because he said national security was at risk.

But in its ruling, the court said there was insufficient evidence of a terror threat from these countries.

"The government has pointed to no evidence that any alien from any of the countries named in the Order has perpetrated a terrorist attack in the United States," it said.

It also rejected the argument that the president had sole discretion to set immigration policy.

"Rather than present evidence to explain the need for the executive order, the government has taken the position that we must not review its decision at all," said the ruling. "We disagree, as explained above.''

See you in which court? Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, Washington

Donald Trump's lawyers did not make their case. In fact, according to three Ninth Circuit judges, they didn't even really try to make their case. Rather than explaining why the temporary travel ban was needed, the administration argued that the president's authority on immigration was so sweeping that they didn't have to explain why the order was necessary.

According to the court, the government was unable to say why Mr Trump's ban addressed a pressing national security threat that a temporary stay of the order would worsen. The lawyers for the challenging states, on the other hand, convinced the judges that re-imposing the order at this point would create further chaos by infringing on the due process rights of those on US soil, regardless of their immigration status.

By issuing a unanimous, unsigned opinion, the judges avoid accusations of partisan bias, as one of the three was a Republican appointee.

Mr Trump tweeted a sharp "SEE YOU IN COURT" following the decision - but which court?

An appeal to the Supreme Court seems likely, although a better move for the president may be to fight in the lower court until Judge Neil Gorsuch joins a conservative majority on the bench.

Mr Trump responded to the ruling by tweeting, in block capital letters: "SEE YOU IN COURT, THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!"

The Justice Department, which made representations to the appeals court on behalf of the White House, said in a statement it was "reviewing the decision and considering its options".

The executive order, at the end of his first week in office, sparked protests and confusion as people were stopped at US borders.

Lawyers representing the US government had argued that the ban was a "lawful exercise" of presidential authority.

But two US states said the ban was unconstitutional and discriminated against Muslims.

The case is now likely to end up at the highest court, the US Supreme Court.

Source:
courtesy of BBC NEWS

by BBC News

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