A protest against Trump immigration policy. image: Bigstock
US judge extends suspension of travel ban
WASHINGTON, March 30, 2017
A US federal judge in Hawaii has indefinitely extended the suspension of President Trump's new travel ban targeting six mostly Muslim nations.
Judge Derrick Watson's ruling means Trump will be barred from enforcing the ban while it is contested in court, a BBC report said.
In a lawsuit, the US state of Hawaii says the ban would harm tourism and the ability to recruit foreign students and workers. President Trump says his revised travel ban seeks to prevent terrorists from entering the US, the report said.
Judge Watson made the ruling late on Wednesday after hearing arguments from attorneys for the state of Hawaii and the US Department of Justice.
The judge turned his earlier temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction that would have a more lasting effect.
President Trump's executive order on March 6 would have placed a 90-day ban on people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen and a 120-day ban on refugees.
