Trump Travel Ban: Maryland Judge Blocks Parts Of Revised Executive Order

Following the Wednesday ruling by a federal judge from Hawaii, President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban received a further blow from a second federal judge who issued a restraining order against the new executive order in a federal court in Maryland on Thursday.

The decision from U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang is the second legal impediment that undermines the executive order which sought to block travelers from Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen for at least 90 days and suspended the U.S. refugee program for at least 120 days. The order, scheduled to take effect from 12:01 a.m. Thursday, also aimed to reduce the number of refugees to be admitted this year to 50,000 from 110,000.

In his ruling, Judge Chuang said the revised travel ban was discriminatory in nature against Muslims.

“The history of public statements continues to provide a convincing case that the purpose of the Second Executive Order remains the realization of the long-envisioned Muslim ban,” Chuang wrote, according to the Washington Post.

Read: Hawaii Judge Blocks Revised Executive Order

Chuang wrote that he “should not, and will not, second-guess the conclusion that national security interests would be served by the travel ban,” but said that he had no choice but to block the executive order because the attempt to disfavor a particular religion appeared to be its primary goal.

“In this highly unique case…the record provides strong indications that the national security purpose is not the primary purpose for the travel ban,” he wrote.

Reacting to the earlier ruling by a federal judge in Hawaii blocking the revised travel ban, Trump said at a rally in Nashville on Wednesday, that he was prepared to take the case to the Supreme Court.

“Let me tell you something. I think we ought to go back to the first one and go all the way… The danger is clear, the law is clear, the need for my executive order is clear,” Trump reportedly said, according to Time.