Judge blocks latest version of Trump's travel ban

HONOLULU, Hawaii (AP):

A federal judge in Hawaii blocked the Trump administration yesterday from enforcing its latest travel ban, just hours before it was set to take effect.

US District Judge Derrick Watson granted Hawaii's request to temporarily block the policy that was to be implemented starting early Wednesday. He found that Trump's executive order "suffers from precisely the same maladies as its predecessor".

The judge, appointed by former President Barack Obama, said the new restrictions ignore a federal appeals court ruling that found that President Donald Trump's previous ban exceeds the scope of his authority. The latest version "plainly discriminates based on nationality in the manner that the 9th Circuit has found antithetical to ... the founding principles of this nation," Watson wrote.

The Trump administration in September announced the restrictions affecting citizens of Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen and some Venezuelan government officials and their families.

The government has said the new policy was based on an objective assessment of each country's security situation and willingness to share information with the US

Hawaii argued in court documents that the updated ban is a continuation of Trump's "promise to exclude Muslims from the United States" despite the addition of two non-majority Muslim countries.

Other courts are weighing challenges to the latest travel restrictions.

In Maryland, the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups are seeking to block the visa and entry restrictions in the president's latest proclamation.

Washington state, Massachusetts, California, Oregon, New York and Maryland have challenged the policy before US District Judge James Robart in Seattle, who struck down Trump's initial ban in January.

That policy led to chaos and confusion at airports nationwide and triggered several lawsuits, including one from Hawaii.