US judge blocks latest version of Trump travel ban

WASHINGTON (AFP) – A US federal judge on Tuesday barred the White House from implementing yet another version of President Donald Trump’s controversial executive order on immigration, hours before it was due to go into full effect.

The decision by US District Judge Derrick Watson in Hawaii – which the White House signaled it would appeal -- marks the latest blow to Trump’s long-running efforts to restrict entry of travelers from targeted countries into the United States.

Watson said the third rendition of the travel ban – covering people from six mainly Muslim countries, as well as North Korea and some officials from Venezuela – could not be justified under law.

In his decision, Watson wrote the ban ‘’suffers from precisely the same maladies as its predecessor: it lacks sufficient findings that the entry of more than 150 million nationals from six specific countries would be ‘detrimental to the interests of the United States.’’’

The ruling means the Trump administration could again ask the Supreme Court to decide whether his immigration orders are legal.

The newest order was announced last month to replace an expiring 90-day temporary ban on travelers from the Muslim-majority nations of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The September decree removed Sudan from the list, but added Chad and North Korea for full bans and Venezuela for a ban limited to certain classes of officials.

The White House justified the measure as needed to protect US national security – but critics said it appeared virtually the same as the original order of January 27.

Courts shot that version down say- ing it targeted Muslims, violating the US constitutional protections for religious freedom.

A second version was only slightly adjusted and was quickly tied up in similar legal wrangling.