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Richmond court sets May argument on revised Trump travel ban

Posted at 5:55 PM, Mar 23, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-23 18:58:01-04

RICHMOND, Va. -- The United States Fourth Circuit Court has approved a motion by federal lawyers to expedite President Donald Trump’s travel ban appeal case.

The Trump administration requested that all briefs be down within a two week time frame.

Thursday, the court approved their request and oral arguments are now set for May 8 at the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond.

This comes after US District Court Judge Theodore Chuang imposed a nationwide halt to the portion of the President’s revised executive order that barred foreign nationals from six majority-Muslim nations from entering the country.

The lawsuit in Maryland was brought by refugee aid groups and foreign nationals who argued in court filings that the revised executive order “was motivated by animus toward Muslims,” and impermissibly discriminates on the basis of religion and national origin.

In a 43-page decision, Chuang detailed many of Trump’s statements about Muslims from the campaign trail and concluded that despite the significant changes to who was exempted by the executive order the second time around, “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 issued a preliminary injunction, which will last through a trial on the merits of the case.

Even if the 4th Circuit Court rules in Trump’s favor, the administration still faces legal obstacles.

Another federal judge in Hawaii issued a decision that resulted in a nationwide temporary restraining order of two key provisions of travel ban.

US District Court Judge Derrick Watson’s ruling in Hawaii was slightly broader in scope in that it blocked both the 90-day on all foreign nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, as well as the 120-day ban on all refugees entering the country — whereas Chuang’s ruling only concerns the 90-day ban.

The Fourth Circuit does not publicize ahead of time who will be on the eventual three-judge panel that hears the case.

The CNN Wire contributed to this article.

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