ALEXANDRIA, Va. (WAVY) — A federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction barring the Trump administration from implementing its travel ban in Virginia, adding another judicial ruling to those already in place challenging the ban’s constitutionality.
Herring requested a preliminary injunction on the portion of Trump’s order that temporarily bans entry of lawful permanent residents and visa holders from seven majority-Muslim nations.
*BREAKING* A federal judge in Virginia has blocked enforcement of Pres. Trump's ban. pic.twitter.com/HX57HltC9A
— Mark Herring (@MarkHerringVA) February 14, 2017
Last week, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the states of Washington and Minnesota in refusing to reinstate the ban, opening the possibility that the case could advance to the U.S. Supreme Court. On Friday, a federal judge in Virginia also seemed inclined to rule against the administration in a different challenge.
But the preliminary injunction issued late Monday by U.S. District Court Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria is a more permanent type of injunction than the temporary restraining order issued in the Washington state case. Still, because of the 9th Circuit’s decision refusing to reinstate the order, the practical effect of any decision in Virginia may be muted for now.
Brinkema’s injunction, though, applies only in Virginia.
In her 22-page ruling, Brinkema said the Trump administration offered no justification for the travel ban and wrote that the president’s executive power “does not mean absolute power.”
Trump said Friday that he is considering signing a “brand new order” while the ban is held up in court.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.