A federal judge in Seattle has temporarily blocked an executive order that bars admission to the U.S. for refugees and people from seven majority-Muslim countries.
The order “adversely affects the states’ residents in areas of employment, education business, family relations and freedom to travel,” U.S. District Judge James Robart wrote in a ruling issued Friday in a lawsuit filed by the states of Washington and Minnesota.
“In addition, the states themselves are harmed by virtue of the damage that implementation of the executive order has inflicted upon the operations and missions of their public universities and other institutions of higher learning, as well as injury to the states’ operations, tax bases, and public funds,” Robart added.
The ruling, which applies nationwide, will remain in effect until lawyers for the government have an opportunity to argue why it should be lifted. Airlines said late Friday they would permit passengers from the seven countries who hold valid visas or green cards to board flights to the U.S.
The government has voided as many as 60,000 visas since Jan 27, when the president signed the order.
“We are a nation of laws,” Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson told reporters after the ruling. “I’m certain the president will not like this decision, but it is his job, it is his responsibility, it is his obligation as our president to honor it and I’ll make sure he does.”