At the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, the Justice Department is taking on challenges to President Trump’s temporary travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries. The travel ban was effectively suspended Friday night when Judge James L. Robart, a federal judge in Seattle, ruled the ban, as written, was unconstitutional and be immediately halted. Opposing sides will argue whether to reinstate Trump’s executive order.

CGTN’s Roee Ruttenberg has the latest information.

In addition to Washington, 15 states and the District of Columbia have filed a supporting brief to argue the travel ban would “cause harm to the states, including to state institutions such as public universities, to the businesses that sustain our economies, and to our residents.” The Trump administration is arguing that the ban is within the purview of the president’s executive authority and federal Judge Robart’s order would cause “irreparable harm to national security.”

Whatever the decision of the Ninth Circuit, the case is expected to be appealed – by either side – all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The legal and social pushback against President Trump’s travel ban

Lawyers for Washington state and Minnesota are telling a federal appeals court that restoring President Donald Trump’s ban on refugees and travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries …