In his 43-page written order, Judge Watson of Hawaii called the administration's arguments illogical and flawed. Citing prior comments Trump made as a candidate about his desire to curb immigration of foreign nationals who are Muslim, Judge Watson said "significant and un-rebutted evidence of religious animus" was behind both the original and revised versions of the executive order.
"These plainly-worded statements, made in the months leading up to and contemporaneous with the signing of the Executive Order, and, in many cases, made by the Executive himself, betray the Executive Order's stated secular purpose," Judge Watson said.
Trump has billed the immigration restrictions as necessary to guard against the terrorist threat, but his policy has suffered a string of legal defeats in recent months from judges who said the executive order was a thinly-veiled and illegal attempt to carry out the "Muslim ban" Trump repeatedly promised in his presidential campaign, Politico said adding:
"The court rulings have also dealt serious political blows to the White House, setting back one of the president's highest-profile policy moves and raising questions about the administration's ability to manage complex policy shifts. The decisions have also underscored the degree to which Trump's rhetoric -- both before and after assuming the presidency --often undercuts his best legal defenses."
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