In ruling, appeals court judges invoke Trump's statements on 'a Muslim ban'

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last updated 10 February 2017

On Thursday evening, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously decided against restoring President Trump's ban on travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries, and in their ruling, the judges invoked Trump's "numerous statements" about his intention to enact a "Muslim ban."

The suit was filed against Trump by the states of Washington and Minnesota, and in the decision, the judges wrote: "The states argue that the Executive Order violates the Establishment and Equal Protection Clauses because it was intended to disfavor Muslims. In support of this argument, the states have offered evidence of numerous statements by the president about his intent to implement a 'Muslim ban' as well as evidence they claim suggests that the Executive Order was intended to be that ban..."

While on the campaign trail, Trump called for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on," and in January, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Trump surrogate, told Fox News that the president asked him how to "legally" implement a "Muslim ban."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.