Judge rejects us request to clarify order halting travel ban

Judge rejects us request to clarify order halting travel ban

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A federal judge has rejected the US government's request to clarify his temporary order blocking President Donald Trump's revised travel ban. US District Judge Derrick Watson on


Sunday said nothing was unclear about his order and the government can't ask for a distinction that officials failed to make in earlier briefs and arguments, according to online court


records. Watson issued the temporary restraining order Wednesday in response to a lawsuit from the state of Hawaii, concluding there was "significant and unrebutted evidence of


religious animus" behind the travel ban. > Two days later, the Justice Department asked Watson to clarify that > the order only applied to the ban on travel from six mostly Muslim


> countries and not a global freeze on refugees entering the United > States. Watson asked federal officials and Hawaii how they want to proceed regarding a possible extension of his


order. Trump has called the Hawaii ruling an example of "unprecedented judicial overreach" and has indicated it will be appealed. Similar cases are being heard in federal courts in


Washington state and Maryland. In all, more than half a dozen states are trying to block the travel ban. Published: 20 Mar 2017, 3:35 AM IST