Travel Ban Blockades Lead To a Warning from Trump

Image: PHOTO: Donald Trump. (photo via Flickr/Gage Skidmore)
Image: PHOTO: Donald Trump. (photo via Flickr/Gage Skidmore)
Gabe Zaldivar
by Gabe Zaldivar
Last updated: 5:00 PM ET, Thu April 27, 2017

Some might see the back and forth between the White House and the nation's various courts over travel ban 1.0 and 2.0 as the country's system of checks and balances playing out.

One person doesn't quite see it that way.

CNN reports President Donald Trump has displayed renewed animosity for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, insinuating that he would like to dismantle it.

It's been a highly legislative year in the travel industry. Back in January, Trump signed the now infamous ban that had initially prohibited travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries. As we know, courts put a hold on the ban and the case went to the 9th Circuit, which refused to roll back the order. Thus, Travel Ban No. 1 was effectively dead.

At the time, Trump dressed down the court system, particularly US District Judge James Robart who held that first executive order. The President proclaimed at the time, "Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad!"

Then, at the beginning of March, the President signed a reworked travel ban that offered fewer restrictions and also eliminated Iraq from the list of countries affected by the order.

Almost immediately, Judge Derrick Watson of Hawaii's district court blocked the order, explaining: "The illogic of the Government's contentions is palpable. The notion that one can demonstrate animus toward any group of people only by targeting all of them at once is fundamentally flawed."

Fast forward to April 25, and another court was finding fault with one of Trump's more recent orders, this one blocking the possibility of federal funds being taken away from cities that refrain from the administration's immigration mandates.

Forget the fact that this act was imposed by San Francisco's Judge William Orric,k who is not on the 9th Circuit Court, because Trump apparently has.

The president stated, via Twitter (h/t CNN): "First the Ninth Circuit rules against the ban & now it hits again on sanctuary cities-both ridiculous rulings. See you in the Supreme Court!"

Trump continued via social media: "Out of our very big country, with many choices, does everyone notice that both the 'ban' case and now the 'sanctuary' case is brought in ... The Ninth Circuit, which has a terrible record of being overturned (close to 80%). They used to call this 'judge shopping!' Messy system."

The president also spoke with The Washington Examiner on the prospect of breaking up the 9th Circuit. On the possibility of splitting the court, Trump states, "Absolutely, I have."

The president then offered, "Everybody immediately runs to the 9th Circuit. And we have a big country. We have lots of other locations. But they immediately run to the 9th Circuit. Because they know that's like, semi-automatic. You see judge shopping, or what's gone on with these people, they immediately run to the 9th Circuit. It's got close to an 80 percent reversal period, and what's going on in the 9th Circuit is a shame."

The Huffington Post explains that the last claim is a bit disingenuous as the 80 percent mark accounts for those cases that make their way to the Supreme Court from this district, or "one-tenth of 1 percent of the 9th Circuit's decisions."

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CNN further explains that reversal rate amounted to a percentage of 10 cases and compared it to the 11th District, which had a reversal rate of 100 percent for the same year in 2015.

As that particular report notes, the 9th Circuit has come under fire myriad times for its perceived liberal leanings as well as the wide swath of population it covers.

Yet, the 9th Circuit is getting a larger target this year thanks to a pair of travel bans that have fallen flat at various courts around the nation. Thanks to a "vigilant" White House, travelers are forced to become legal scholars to sort out the entire mess.


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