WASHINGTON (AP) – After a federal appeals court unanimously refused to immediately reinstate his travel ban last month, President Donald Trump tweeted a warning: “SEE YOU IN COURT. THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!”
The courts never did get to decide the full merits of that case before Trump replaced the travel ban Monday with a much narrower version – one supporters say is well within his authority, but which critics say is more palatable but still problematic.
“Bottom line is the president has capitulated on numerous key provisions that we contested in court about a month ago,” Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who led the legal challenge to the initial ban, told a news conference Monday.
But the original ban was motivated in part “to target predominantly Muslim countries,” Ferguson said, adding, “We still have concerns about that intent.”
The new ban temporarily bars new visas for citizens of six predominantly Muslim countries – one fewer than the original, with Iraq removed from the list. It also suspends the entire U.S. refugee program.