Opponents to President Donald Trump’s travel ban have a reason to celebrate
US President Donald Trump has been dealt a fresh blow, as the court-ordered suspension of his controversial executive order to ban passport-holders from seven majority-Muslim countries entering the US has been upheld.
Following the ruling, Trump tweeted: “See you in court, the security of our nation is at stake.”
A US federal appeals court has just unanimously upheld a temporary suspension of Trump's order that restricted travel from seven Muslim-majority countries.
Trump had campaigned on the road to the White House about stricter border control, particularly for traveller and migrants from Muslim-majority countries until "we can figure out what the hell is going on".
In one of his first moves in the Oval Office he suspended the entire refugee programme for 120 days and banned entry for any traveller from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Syria for 90 days from 27 January.
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Close to 100 leaders from corporate America – particularly the tech giants of Silicon Valley – spoke out against the travel ban.
That plan now looks to have hit another roadblock.
The US Supreme Court will likely determine the case's final outcome.
Protesters have previously gathered in cities around the world to march against what they see as a racist move from the new president.
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The case was the first serious test of executive authority since Trump became president on 20 January.
Washington state filed the original lawsuit, claiming it was hurt by the ban when students and faculty from state-run universities and corporate employees were stranded overseas.
Trump's executive order caused headaches particularly for close allies in the Five Eyes defence alliance, such as the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, as dual nationals from these countries were still banned if they had a banned passport as well.
This prompted conflicting advice from embassies and foreign offices for the first days after the ban was announced. It took four days for the US embassy in London to update guidance, clarifying that Britons who share dual nationality with countries on the list will be allowed into the US.