Washington notches first win in legal fight against Trump travel ban

Washington state officials celebrated Friday’s court order from a federal judge that stopped President Trump’s controversial executive order that banned travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries, but said the legal battle against the travel ban would continue.

“The Constitution prevailed today,” said Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson. “No one is above the law — not even the president.”

“This is a tremendous victory for the state of Washington,” added Gov. Jay Inslee.

“There is still more to do. The fight isn’t yet won,” Insee said. “But we should feel heartened by today’s victory and more resolute than ever that we are fighting on the right side of history.”

Washington became the first state to challenge the president’s travel ban, and Minnesota joined Ferguson’s lawsuit last week.

The attorney general requested the temporary restraining order in a court filing Thursday.

Ferguson maintains that Trump’s executive order violates the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection and the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, infringes individuals’ constitutional right to due process and contravenes the federal Immigration and Nationality Act.

On Friday, U.S. District Court James L. Robart, who was nominated to the court by President George W. Bush in 2003, agreed to block the travel ban.

The temporary restraining order will remain in place until Robart considers Ferguson’s lawsuit that challenges key provisions of the president’s order as illegal and unconstitutional.

If Ferguson prevails, Trump’s executive order would be permanently invalidated nationwide.

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