A U.S. District Court in Virginia has issued a separate injunction barring enforcement of the travel ban contained in the third of the Executive Orders issued in the first full week of the Trump administration.
While a Temporary Restraining Order (“TRO”) issued by a Washington District Court, and upheld by the 9th Circuit Court of appeals, already prevented enforcement of the order, this is still important as it relies upon a different basis for preventing enforcement: the original TRO was based on “Due Process” grounds, a procedural fairness guarantee, where the new Virginia District Court decision goes so far as to say that the ban is unconstitutionally biased and so violates of the first amendment, favoring other religions over Islam. The order references Trump’s campaign promise of a “Muslim Ban.”
Further, the injunction is seen as a more permanent type of relief than the TRO and will stay in place until the Virginia trial moves forward.