A federal judge has blocked part of President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration, ruling that travellers who have already landed in the United States with valid visas should not be sent back to their home countries.
Lawyers had filed a legal case in response to the order that includes a 90-day entry ban on citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations.
US District Judge Ann Donnelly's ruling late on Saturday concerns dozens of people who were detained at US airports following Trump's actions.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which had filed a class action lawsuit against the ban, hailed the temporary stay of execution as a victory.
"This ruling preserves the status quo and ensures that people who have been granted permission to be in this country are not illegally removed off US soil," Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, stated.
 |
| An Iranian professor and US resident are reunited with friends and family after being questioned at Boston's Logan Airport [Reuters] |
ACLU stated it would help 100 to 200 people with valid visas or refugee status, who found themselves detained in transit or at US airports after Trump signed the order late on Friday.
The legal case was raised after two Iraqis were held by law enforcement officials at John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) while trying to legally enter the country.
At least 12 travellers have been detained at JFK, prompting mass protests at the airport.
Less than 24 hours into the ban, Homeland Security stated that at least 109 travellers had been denied entry into the United States in total.
Trump signed an executive order that effectively denies entry to refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including those with green cards, who otherwise have permanent residence in the United States.
Signing the order at the Pentagon, Trump stated the move would help protect Americans from "terrorist" attacks.
"It's been absolute chaos at airports across the country," Abed Ayoub, legal and policy director of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee, told Al Jazeera. "It's definitely not making America safe again, it's just making America hate again."
He added that the order "doesn't only concern American Muslims, it concerns Americans. [Trump's] hate rhetoric is turning into destructive policies."
In the case of war-torn Syria, Trump qualified the order's scope by saying he would prioritise Syrian Christians entering as refugees.
 |
| A police officer walks past people protesting against the travel ban at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport [Laura Buckman/Reuters] |
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau weighed in on Saturday on Trump's orders with a decidedly different approach.
"To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada," he posted on twitter, along with a photograph of him greeting a Syrian child at a Toronto airport.
A spokeswoman for Trudeau told The Associated Press, he is "looking forward to discussing the successes of Canada's immigration and refugee policy" when he meets with Trump at the White Housea meeting that is expected in the near term.
Aljazeera