US District Judge James Robart on Friday granted a nationwide temporary restraining order on President Donald Trump's executive order blocking citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the country.

"The state has met its burden in demonstrating immediate and irreparable injury," Robart said.

Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who filed the lawsuit along with the state of Minnesota, argued that the executive order failed to provide due process for legal residents of the United States.

"The law is a powerful thing - it has the ability to hold everybody accountable to it, and that includes the president of the United States," Ferguson said during a press briefing after the ruling.

Friday's ruling also blocks the suspension of the US refugee program that has left thousands stranded after receiving approval for resettlment.

In reaction to the ruling, airlines including Qatar Airways and Air France said on Saturday that they will allow people barred by last week's executive order to board flights to the US if they have valid travel documents.

'Outrageous'

The Justice Department notified State Department of the ruling, and began working with the Department of Homeland Security to determine how it affects operations, a spokesperson said.

The US Customs and Border Protection agency told airlines to allow travelers affected by Trump's executive order to board, an aviation official said, according to Reuters news agency.

Hours after the ruling, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the Justice Department "intends to file (for) an emergency stay of this outrageous order and defend the executive order of the president, which we believe is lawful and appropriate."

But the Justice Department later said it would not file for an emergency stay on Friday, according to a spokesperson.

"The president's order is intended to protect the homeland and he has the constitutional authority and responsibility to protect the American people," Spicer said.

Fast work: Donald Trump's executive actions so far A quick way to fulfill campaign promises Less than a month into his presidency, Donald Trump has issued 17 executive actions. While this number in itself is not remarkable - by the same time, Barack Obama had signed roughly the same number of executive orders - the content of Trump's decrees is. It seems the new president wants to implement many of his campaign promises - including the controversial ones - as quickly as possible.

Fast work: Donald Trump's executive actions so far Executive orders and presidential memoranda Executive actions (EA) allow the US president to give government agencies orders that do not need Congressional approval, circumventing the law-making process and speeding up the implementation process. Executive orders are a more wide-reaching form of EA that often deal with larger organizational directives, while presidential memoranda order specific agencies to do something.

Fast work: Donald Trump's executive actions so far Weakening Obamacare Executive Order: The first executive order that Trump signed was a missive on deferring, waving or delaying parts of the Affordable Care Act to "minimize regulatory burdens." While Trump alone can not repeal the healthcare law instated under President Obama, he can undermine the implementation of "Obamacare" while the Republican majority in Congress prepares to repeal the law.

Fast work: Donald Trump's executive actions so far Pulling federal funding for abortion advice Presidential Memorandum: Trump re-instated a policy that bars US federal funding for non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling and advocate for abortion rights. This directive was initially instated by Republican president Ronald Reagan, rescinded by Democrat Bill Clinton, re-instated by Republican George W. Bush and again rescinded by Democrat Barack Obama.

Fast work: Donald Trump's executive actions so far Deportation of undocumented immigrants Executive Order: Trump ordered immigration agents to vastly expand the scope of deportations. He wants federal grants to be pulled from sanctuary cities (where undocumented migrants are not prosecuted) and immigrants suspected of a crime to be detained, even if they were not charged. He plans to hire 10,000 new immigration agents and publish a report on crimes committed by undocumented immigrants.

Fast work: Donald Trump's executive actions so far Building the Wall Executive Order: In an executive order signed on January 25, President Trump called for "the immediate construction of a physical wall" in order to secure the US-Mexico border. He also referred to undocumented immigrants as "removable aliens," saying that the executive branch should "end the abuse of parole and asylum provisions currently used to prevent the lawful removal of removable aliens."

Fast work: Donald Trump's executive actions so far Travel ban and halting refugee intake Executive Order: Trump signed this controversial order on January 27. It banned people from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the US for three months, stopped the Syrian refugee program indefinitely and suspended refugee admissions for 120 days. Protests against the order erupted across the country and even Republican senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham criticized the policy.

Fast work: Donald Trump's executive actions so far The United States pulls out of TPP Memorandum: It was no surprise that Donald Trump abandoned the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). During his campaign, he frequently criticized the TPP and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), saying that other countries benefited from these trade agreements at the expense of the US. Press secretary Sean Spicer said Trump prefered deals with individual countries.

Fast work: Donald Trump's executive actions so far Oil pipelines, if they're made from US steel Three different memoranda: One on constructing the Dakota Access Pipeline, another on continuing construction of the Keystone pipeline, and a third order on using American materials to build all pipelines - were issued on Trump's fourth day in office. Barack Obama had denied permits to both pipelines after massive protests from environmentalists, who feared the potential impact of spills.

Fast work: Donald Trump's executive actions so far Expand the military, freeze other government hiring Memoranda: Trump quickly lived up to his campaign promise to invest in a bigger military, signing a memorandum for more troops, warships and a modernized nuclear arsenal a week into his presidency. Four days earlier, he ordered a freeze on the hiring of new civilian employees in federal agencies for up to 90 days, so that his administration could develop a long-term plan to shrink the workforce.

Fast work: Donald Trump's executive actions so far Lobbying, National Security Council and IS Executive order: Every new government appointee will sign an ethics pledge that bans them from working as a lobbyist for five years after leaving their post and from ever lobbying the US government for other countries. On the same day, he issued two further memoranda ordering the Department of Defense to formulate a plan to defeat IS within 30 days and to reorganize the National Security Council.

Fast work: Donald Trump's executive actions so far Steve Bannon in the National Security Council Memorandum: Trump ordered an overhaul of the National Security Council (NSC) to elevate the role of Stephen Bannon. He removed several senior members from the foreign policy decision-making panel while Trump's chief strategist, known for his far-right views, will serve on the committee usually staffed with generals. This breaks with the long-held norm of not appointing political actors to the NSC.

Fast work: Donald Trump's executive actions so far Deregulate, deregulate, deregulate Executive Orders and Memorandum: Trump wants federal agencies to eliminate at least two prior regulations for every new regulation. He ordered a freeze on new and pending federal regulations, until a Trump-appointed department head could revise them. He also asked for the approval of "high priority infrastructure projects" to be sped up.

Fast work: Donald Trump's executive actions so far Presidential precedent President Barack Obama issued a total of 277 executive orders - an average of roughly three per month, slightly fewer than his predecessor George W. Bush at 291. However, Obama issued 644 presidential memoranda during his time in office to get around blocks in Congress - a precedent Trump appears to be following. Author: Rebecca Staudenmaier, Mara Bierbach



Uncertain future

Friday's ruling has raised questions concerning the legal future of the order. However, lawyers representing Trump's administration had filed an appeal on Thursday to block any attempt at a suspension of the order.

Although the case may make its way to the Supreme Court, the highest judicial body in the US, it would likely be after the initial 90-day duration set forth in the order.

Ordered last week, Trump's travel ban caused chaos across airports in the US and prompted mass protests both in the US and abroad.

The order prevented passport-holders from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen from entering the country for 90 days and indefinitely suspended the US refugee program for Syrians, citing national security concerns.

However, some American lawyers argued that the order was unconstitutional because it deliberately targeted Muslims.

Tens of thousands 'denied entry'

The US State Department on Friday announced that fewer than 60,000 people had their visas invalidated due to the executive order, a stark contrast to the 100,000-figure cited by US District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Virginia.

Brinkema had ordered the federal government to provide Virginia with a list by Thursday of "all persons who have been denied entry to or removed from the United States."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier this week criticized the travel ban, saying it did not contribute to the fight against terrorism.

"The necessary and decisive battle against terrorism does not in any way justify putting groups of certain people under general suspicion, in this case people of Muslim belief or of a certain origin," she told reporters in Berlin.

Meanwhile, some US-based researchers have questioned why countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have not been targeted by the ban, considered a necessity for national security by the White House.

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ls/gsw (Reuters, AP, dpa)