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Hillary Clinton and other Democrats celebrated the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision to keep President Donald Trump’s immigration executive order on hold as a victory for the Constitution. Many Congressional Democrats called on Trump to drop the executive order and work with Congress on immigration.
The order banned immigrants from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the U.S., and critics said that it unconstitutionally targeted people based on their religion.
Clinton’s response to the decision was simple. She tweeted “3-0” in reference to the unanimous decision by three federal judges – William Canby Jr., Richard Clifton and Michelle Friedland – on the court. The three judges ruled in favor of the States of Washington and Minnesota, who are the plaintiffs in the case.
In their decision, the judges found that the government could not prove that any citizens from the seven countries named in the order carried out terrorist attacks on U.S. soil.
“The Government has pointed to no evidence that any alien from any of the countries named in the Order has perpetrated a terrorist attack in the United States. Rather than present evidence to explain the need for the Executive Order, the Government has taken the position that we must not review its decision at all. We disagree,” the judges wrote.
The immigration order caused chaos around the country the day after it was signed on January 27. Citizens from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen were barred from entering the country for 90 days. Initially, it even effected green card holders, although the State Department said it would restore 60,000 visas, notes USA Today. The ban also put a 120-day hold on all refugees entering the U.S.
Since the ban was signed, there have been protests and lawsuits filed around the country. Then, District Judge James Robart in Seattle put a hold on the ban that covered the entire U.S.
Trump’s next step will be to take the executive order to the Supreme Court. Trump declared that he would do just that, writing in all capital letters on Twitter:
SEE YOU IN COURT, THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!
The Trump Administration has insisted that the order was not a “Muslim ban.” However, Trump supporter Rudy Giuliani told Fox News that Trump asked him how to do a “Muslim ban” “legally.”
“I’ll tell you the whole history of it: When he first announced it, he said ‘Muslim ban,'” Giuliani told Fox News. “He called me up, he said, ‘Put a commission together, show me the right way to do it legally.’”
Those words are now being used in the legal battle to stop the executive order. As the Los Angeles Times notes, Noah G. Purcell, the lawyer representing Minnesota and Washington State pointed out “the public statements from the president and his top advisors” about promising a “Muslim ban” during the campaign.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote that Trump should abandon his executive order and work with Congress to create a “bipartisan plan to keep up safe.”
Pres Trump ought to see the writing on the wall, abandon proposal, roll up his sleeves & come up w/ a real, bipartisan plan to keep us safe.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called it a “victory for our Constitution and our fight against terrorism.”
Tonight’s 9th Circuit ruling is a victory for our Constitution and our fight against terrorism. #RefugeesWelcome t.co/IaVGdGqCB8
Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut also called on Trump to withdraw the executive order.
Senator Patty Murray of Washington State wrote:
Senator Al Franken of Minnesota wrote on Facebook that he hopes to see the executive order struck down alltogether.
Rep. Tel Lieu of California pointed out that two of the judges ruling against Trump are President George W. Bush appointees, proving that this is “not a partisan issue” but a “Constitutional issue.”
America is great because we are not an authoritarian dictatorship. We have a Constitution & a separation of powers. Thank you 9th Circuit.
Virginia’s governor, Terry McAuliffe, wrote on Facebook that this is a “victory for the American people,” adding that he will “continue to work with Attorney General Mark Herring, Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam and all Virginians to oppose this and any future attempt to undermine our nation’s status as a beacon of hope and democracy for all.”
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders wrote:
Hopefully, this ruling teaches President Trump a lesson in American history and how our democracy is supposed to work here at home.
