Hawaii judge extends order blocking Trump travel ban

US District Judge Derrick Watson in Hawaii said Wednesday he had turned his original temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction.

LOS ANGELES // The US federal judge who halted president Donald Trump’s revised ban on refugee resettlement and arrivals of people from six mainly Muslim countries has extended his order blocking its implementation.

US District Judge Derrick Watson in Hawaii said on Wednesday that he had turned his original temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction.

Such an injunction generally has no set expiration date, said Hawaii attorney general Doug Chin.

This means Trump will be barred from enforcing the ban while it is contested in court.

The US justice department is expected to appeal against the decision to the US 9th circuit court of appeals.

Judge Watson’s first order suspending enforcement of Mr Trump’s amended ban was issued on March 15 – a day before the measure was to go into effect.

Mr Trump’s first executive order and the revised one have both been criticised as amounting to a ban on entry of Muslims into the US.

Mr Chin praised the court ruling: “With a preliminary injunction in place, people in Hawaii with family in the six affected Muslim-majority countries, as well as Hawaiian students, travellers and refugees across the world, face less uncertainty.

“While we understand that the president may appeal, we believe the court’s well-reasoned decision will be affirmed.”

In his first order, Judge Watson ruled it was plausible “to conclude that targeting these countries likewise targets Islam” as Muslims comprise between 90.7 and 99.8 per cent of their populations.

Mr Trump has said a travel ban is needed to preserve US national security and keep out extremists.

If the justice department appeals against the latest ruling it will be heard in the same San Francisco court that upheld a halt to Mr Trump’s first travel ban in February, after a judge in Seattle ruled against it.

The ban aims to close US borders to nationals of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days, and all refugees for at least 120 days. Iraq was on the original ban but removed in the revision.

The White House said the six countries were targeted because their screening and information systems could not meet US security requirements.

* Agence France-Presse