The White House has asked the US Supreme Court to reinstate a travel ban on people from majority Muslim countries.<\/p>\n
The ban has been blocked by lower courts which have said that it is discriminatory.<\/p>\n
Two emergency applications have now been filed by the government with the court’s nine justices that seek to overturn those lower court rulings.<\/p>\n
The controversial ban has prompted protests and debate across the US.<\/p>\n
“We have asked the Supreme Court to hear this important case and are confident that President Trump’s executive order is well within his lawful authority to keep the Nation safe and protect our communities from terrorism,” said Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores.<\/p>\n
“The president is not required to admit people from countries that sponsor or shelter terrorism, until he determines that they can be properly vetted and do not pose a security risk to the United States.”<\/p>\n
Mr Trump’s original executive order in January was defeated after a legal challenge initially mounted by Washington state and Minnesota.<\/p>\n
He then signed a revised order in March that bars new visas for people from Somalia, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Libya and Yemen. It also temporarily blocks all refugees.<\/p>\n
However, a district court in Maryland found the ban violated constitutional rights and temporarily blocked it.<\/p>\n
A federal judge in Hawaii also sided with opponents that the ban was discriminatory and cited “questionable evidence” in the government’s argument that the ban was a matter of national security.<\/p>\n
Last month, a federal appeals court in Virginia<\/a> dealt Mr Trump a fresh blow when it refused to lift the temporary block.<\/p>\n It said that the the government’s national security argument was a “secondary justification for an executive order rooted in religious animus and intended to bar Muslims from this country”.<\/p>\n The justice department then said it would seek a Supreme Court review of the appeals verdict.<\/p>\n Source bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"