President Donald Trump was dealt another blow when a federal judge in Hawaii on Wednesday granted the state’s request for a longer term halt of the revised travel ban executive order.
Earlier this month, the same Hawaii federal judge, along with his counterpart in Maryland, temporarily blocked Trump’s second travel ban.
The President had previously pledged to keep fighting in court after a federal appeals court on February 9 ruled against reinstating his first travel ban barring citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States for 90 days and all refugees for 120 days.
Trump said his administration would fight the latest federal ruling all the way to the Supreme Court, declaring, “we’re going to win it.”
Here is what has transpired since the first executive order was issued:
January 27 — President signs executive order
Trump issues the executive order banning entry for 90 days by citizens from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. The order also indefinitely halts refugees from Syria.
January 28 — Protests start nationwide
Mass protests start at airports across the United States in opposition to the travel ban.
January 28 — Judge in New York temporarily blocks part of order
A federal judge in New York blocked part of the order. US Judge Ann M. Donnelly held that the petitioners had a “strong likelihood of success” in establishing that their removal “violates their rights to Due Process and Equal Protection guaranteed by the United States Constitution.”
January 29 — Judge in Massachusetts also issues a temporary restraining order
A federal judge in Massachusetts blocked a part of the order in a case brought by lawyers for two lawful permanent residents who are college professors. That order went a step further ordering that the government could not “detain or remove” those who arrived legally from the seven countries subject to Trump’s order.
January 29 — Trump vigorously defends order
President Trump defended the order, insisting it would protect the country from terrorists. “This is not about religion — this is about terror and keeping our country safe,” the President wrote in a statement.
January 30 — Former President Barack Obama criticizes order
Obama said he “fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith or religion,” according to a statement through a spokesman.
January 30 — Senate Republicans block attempt to reverse order
Senate Republicans squashed two moves by Democrats, including an attempt to begin debating a bill that would rescind the executive order.
January 30 — Trump fires acting Attorney General Sally Yates
Trump fired Yates after she declined to defend the travel ban.
January 31 — New secretary of homeland security defends immigration order
After days of confusion at US airports and overseas, Secretary John Kelly said, “I think we were in pretty good shape on how it was implemented by the workforce.”
February 2 — Trump administration eases travel ban restrictions for green card holders
Among the eased restrictions, US legal permanent residents from the seven countries would be again allowed to take part in the Global Entry program. The program allows for expedited border clearance for travelers deemed to be low-risk.
February 3 — Temporary restraining order isn’t renewed
A federal judge in Boston declined to renew the temporary restraining order affecting Massachusetts that prohibited the detention or removal of foreign travelers legally authorized to come to the US. The January 29 temporary restraining order was set to expire on February 5.
February 3 — Federal judge temporarily halts key provisions of order
US District Court Judge James Robart blocked the ban nationwide. He ruled that the states that filed the lawsuit “have met their burden of demonstrating that they face immediate and irreparable injury as a result of the signing and implementation of the executive order.”
February 5 — Government’s request denied
A federal appeals court rejected the US government’s emergency request to resume the ban. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco asked both sides to file legal briefs before the court makes it final decision.
February 7 — Arguments presented in Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Three federal judges grilled lawyers from the Justice Department and Washington state as the panel weighed whether to lift a nationwide block on the travel ban.
February 9 — Travel ban remains blocked
A three-judge panel in the Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals ruled against reinstating the travel ban. Full text of appeals court ruling.
Immediately after the appeals court ruling, the Trump administration said it wouldn’t immediately appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. The President’s top policy aide, Stephen Miller, said the administration was “considering and pursuing all options.”
February 13 — Judge denies the government’s request to delay travel ban lawsuit
Robart, the federal district court judge in Seattle, rejected the Trump administration’s request to halt further proceedings in his court while the Ninth Circuit Court considered rehearing the case before a larger panel of judges. It meant the challenge to the ban by Washington and Minnesota could proceed in front of Robart.
February 16 — President Trump promises new immigration order
The President said the new order would be “very much tailored” to the federal court decision that temporarily halted his first ban. The Department of Justice also filed a brief telling the Ninth Circuit of Appeals it didn’t need a larger panel of judges to rehear its failed emergency challenge to a lower court’s temporary suspension.
March 6 — New travel ban unveiled
President Trump’s new travel ban excluded Iraq from the list of Muslim-majority countries whose citizens were temporarily blocked. The ban, which was set to take effect on March 16, barred foreign nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the United States for 90 days and all refugees for 120 days. The new executive order came six weeks after the original order was unveiled, causing confusion and chaos at airports nationwide before a federal court blocked it.
March 7 — Hawaii immediately files lawsuit
Attorneys for Hawaii filed the first lawsuit against the new travel ban. The lawsuit asked a federal judge to issue a temporary restraining order blocking implementation of the new executive order. A judge agreed to hear the challenge on March 15.
March 15 — Travel ban blocked again
US District Court Judge Derrick Watson in Hawaii blocked the President’s new travel ban hours before it was set to begin. The temporary restraining order applied nationwide.
The President said the decision was “an unprecedented judicial overreach.” Trump called the new order “a watered-down version” of the first executive order.
“And let me tell you something, I think we ought to go back to the first one and go all the way, which is what I wanted to do in the first place,” Trump said.
The DOJ said it would “continue to defend this executive order in the courts.” The order “falls squarely within [the President’s] lawful authority” to protect the nation’s security, the DOJ said.
March 16 — Another setback for the travel ban
In a decision published on Thursday, US District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland specifically blocked the 90-day ban on immigration for citizens of the six Muslim majority countries. Chuang and Watson both cited Trump’s statements about Muslims during the presidential campaign as part of their rulings.
March 29 — Ruling extended
A federal judge in Hawaii grants the state’s request for a longer term halt of the revised travel ban executive order. US District Court Judge Derrick Watson blocked the core provisions of the revised executive order two weeks ago, concluding that the order likely violates the Establishment Clause of the Constitution by disfavoring Muslims.