On Thursday evening, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to uphold the suspension of President Trump's executive order that keeps refugees and travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.
In its unanimous decision, the three-judge panel wrote, "We hold that the Government has not shown a likelihood of success on the merits of its appeal, nor has it shown that failure to enter a stay would cause irreparable injury, and we therefore deny its emergency motion for a stay." Oral arguments in the case were heard on Tuesday, with a lawyer for the state of Washington arguing that, among other things, the executive order discriminates on the basis of religion. A lawyer from the Department of Justice said the order was made to protect national security, and that the U.S. district judge in Seattle issuing a temporary restraining order last week that suspended the ban nationwide was "overbroad."