Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan applaud as President Donald Trump arrives to deliver his first address to a joint session of Congress from the floor of the House of Representatives in Washington. REUTERS/Jim Lo Scalzo
The US state of Hawaii has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s new travel ban in a federal court, Honolulu.
In a statement, Doug Chin, Hawaii attorney general called the new executive order “nothing more than Muslim Ban 2.0”.
Chin said, “under the pretense of national security, it still targets immigrants and refugees.
“It leaves the door open for even further restrictions. Our office is reviewing the new order and will decide what next steps may be necessary.”
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“The new executive order is resulting in the establishment of religion in the state of Hawaii contrary to its state constitution; it is inflicting immediate damage to Hawaii’s economy, educational institutions, and tourism industry; and it is subjecting a portion of the state’s citizens to second-class treatment and discrimination, while denying all Hawaii residents the benefits of an inclusive and pluralistic society,” attorneys for the state argued in court filings.
“The executive order means that thousands of individuals across the United States and in Hawaii who have immediate family members living in the affected countries will now be unable to receive visits from those persons or to be reunited with them in the United States.”
Trump had on Monday issued a fresh executive order which takes effect on March 16.
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The new order includes the same counties earlier affected, with the exception of Iraq.
The US ninth circuit court of appeals on February 9 refused to reinstate Trump’s first executive order, which temporarily banned citizens of seven countries from entering the US.
On February 3, the three-member panel, in its unanimous ruling, upheld a decision by James Robart, a US district court judge, which halted the ban nationwide.
“We hold that the government has not shown a likelihood of success on the merits of its appeal, nor has it shown that failure to enter a stay would cause irreparable injury, and we, therefore, deny its emergency motion for a stay,” the judges ruled.
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However, Trump immediately indicated his intention to challenge the ruling at the supreme court.
In reaction to the new travel ban, Iran has also threatened to deny US citizens entry into the country.
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