Trump had originally asked for ‘Muslim ban’, says aide Giuliani

A FEDERAL judge in Brooklyn blocked part of US President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration by preventing the government from deporting some of those who had arrived in the United States. The court ruling, however, stopped short of letting them into the country or issuing a broader ruling on the constitutionality of Trump’s actions that had left scores of refugees and others trapped at airports across the country.

Judge Ann M Donnelly of US District Court in Brooklyn ruled just before 9 pm on Saturday that implementing Trump’s order by sending the travellers home could cause them irreparable harm. She said the government was “enjoined and restrained from, in any manner and by any means, removing individuals” who had arrived in the US with valid visas or refugee status.

Large crowds of protesters turned out at airports around the country to denounce Trump’s order. Lawyers who sued the government for its order said the judge’s decision could affect an estimated 100 to 200 people who had been detained upon arrival at American airports.

The President’s order, enacted with the stroke of a pen on Friday, suspended entry of all refugees to the US for 120 days, barred Syrian refugees indefinitely and blocked entry into the US for 90 days for citizens of seven Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Officials of the Department of Homeland Security said Saturday night that 109 people who were already in transit to the US when the order was signed were denied access; 173 were stopped before boarding planes heading to America. Eighty-one, who were stopped, were eventually given waivers to enter the US, officials said.

Relief for green card holders

Homeland Security officials said the order barred green card holders from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from re-entering.

On Sunday, a top White House official appeared to reverse that stand, saying people from the affected countries who hold green cards would not be prevented from returning to the US. But the official, Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, also said that border agents had “discretionary authority” to detain and question suspicious travellers from certain countries.

In a Twitter message Sunday, Trump said the US needed strong borders and “extreme vetting” to protect itself from terrorists. He cited Europe and “indeed, the world” as evidence that the United States must shut its borders to potential threats.

Trump found himself accused of constitutional and legal overreach by two Iraqi immigrants, defended by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The ACLU’S legal case began with two Iraqis detained at Kennedy Airport. One of them, Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, who was en route to reunite with his wife and son in Texas, was released Saturday night. The other, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, an interpreter who had worked for the US government in Iraq, was released shortly before Saturday after 19 hours of detention. He began to cry as he spoke to reporters.

While the judge’s ruling means that none of the detainees will be sent back immediately, lawyers for the plaintiffs expressed concern that all those at the airports would now be put in detention, pending a resolution of the case.

Hundreds of people waited outside of the courthouse chanting, “Set them free,” as lawyers made their case.

Earlier Trump shrugged off anxiety and disarray, suggesting that there had been an orderly rollout. “It’s not a Muslim ban, but we were totally prepared,” he said. “It’s working out very nicely. You see it at the airports; you see it all over.” NYT UP PRESIDENT Donald Trump originally dubbed his executive order suspending refugee arrivals and barring visas for travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries a “Muslim ban,” according to the US president’s aide Rudy Giuliani.

“When he first announced it he said, ‘Muslim ban,’” the former New York mayor told Fox News late Saturday when asked whether the ban was connected to religion.

“Show me the right way to do it legally,” Giuliani — who Trump has reportedly tapped as his “cyber security guru” — said the US President told him.

The 72-year-old said he and a team of legal experts “focused on — instead of religion — danger!” when they drafted the immigration crackdown that has sparked a global outcry and mass protests.

Trump’s sweeping executive order, signed Friday, suspends the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days and prohibits issuing visas for travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen months.

Giuliani said those predominately Muslim countries were targeted because they are “the areas of the world that create danger for us.”

“Which is a factual basis, not a religious basis,” he said.

The crackdown on Muslim immigration has infuriated civil rights groups and activists across the US and the world over.

A federal judge blocked part of Trump’s ban on Saturday, ordering authorities not to deport refugees and other travellers detained at US airports. for the next three

Reuters Activists (top) hold placards at the New York courthouse where the stay was issued. A female veteran (above) protests against the travel ban at Dallas airport on Saturday.