The last time Trump publicly lost it over his revised travel ban was when a federal judge in Hawaii froze the executive order that shut down Visa issuance for six Muslim majority countries — Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen — for 90 days while blocking refugees for a 120 days. This order was tamer than Trump’s first executive order, which was protested at airports after the administration temporarily banned refugee entry from all those countries and Iraq. Despite the softening, a Maryland federal court also joined in blocking Trump’s revised ban, and now, the Fourth Circuit Court of appeals has upheld that court’s nationwide injunction.

Trump is currently surrounded by other heads of state at the NATO summit (and seemingly jostling them around to get a better place in line), but oh boy, he’s going to be upset about this. You can read the entire 205-page ruling at CNN, and on a breaking note, the New York Times explains the overriding reason (religious discrimination) why this ban shall not be reinstated:

The federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., on Thursday refused to reinstate President Trump’s revised travel ban, saying it discriminated on the basis of religion. The decision was a fresh setback for the administration’s efforts to limit travel from several predominantly Muslim countries. Mr. Trump had narrowed the scope of his first executive order, issued in January, in response to an earlier appeals court decision halting it. But the basic flaws in his approach remained, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled.

Trump’s first Muslim ban was mercilessly (and unanimously) killed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in early February. Trump threatened to see them in court as a result (which amused many people, although this latest ruling may go to the Supreme Court), but he’s yet to react to this defeat. Meanwhile, the ACLU is currently celebrating what many see as a victory against Trump’s harsh immigration policies.

https://twitter.com/ACLU/status/867807826311168004/photo/1

DNC Chair Thomas Perez has also issued a statement on the matter:

“Discrimination is not a national security strategy. And once again, a federal court has struck down Donald Trump’s discriminatory Muslim ban. Despite this administration’s best efforts to disguise prejudice as patriotism, judge after judge is coming to the same conclusion: this ban is an unconstitutional attack on the Muslim community and our country’s foundation of religious freedom. “But we don’t need the courts to tell us that this is un-American. This disgraceful ban doesn’t just violate our laws, it violates our ideals as a nation, it makes us less safe, and it threatens our place as the world’s beacon of freedom.”

(Via CNN & New York Times)