Feds all out to save ban

Bid to overrule judge

Justice Department lawyers filed court papers Monday night arguing that President Trump — not the judiciary — has the power to set national-security and immigration policies.

Their 15-page motion sought to have Trump’s travel ban reinstated on refugees as well as immigrants from seven Muslimmajority countries.

It was filed in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, which scheduled one hour of oral arguments in the case for 6 p.m. (EST) on Tuesday.

“The Executive Order is a lawful exercise of the president’s authority over the entry of aliens into the United States and the admission of refugees,” the department’s brief said, adding that the Obama administration and Congress had already identified the seven countries affected by the ban as hotbeds of terrorism.

“Those countries were identified by Congress and the Executive Branch as being associated with a heightened risk of terrorism. Congress itself identified Iraq and Syria, where the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [ISIS] maintain a formidable force.”

The lawyers said the ruling by Seattle federal Judge James Robart Friday that stopped implementation of the ban was overly broad and should be overruled.

Two Democrat-appointed judges and one Republican appointee on the 9th Circuit will decide the case, which could wind up in the Supreme Court.

Also Monday, a group of ex-national security officials, two states and dozens of top tech companies came out against the ban.

Former secretaries of state John Kerry and Madeleine Albright joined the officials in asking the courts to continue blocking the immigration order.

Lawyers for Washington state and Minnesota told the appellate court it would “unleash chaos again” if it restored the restrictions.