
The federal court for the Eastern District of New York issued an emergency stay, temporarily allowing people who have landed in the US with valid visas to stay in the country.
The court ruled on a complaint filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Sameer Abdulkhaleq, who were denied entry to the US after landing at JFK airport in New York City and detained by Customs and Border Patrol.
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A US Federal Court has granted an emegrnecy stay for people currently detained in US airports
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Some legal experts have argued the order is unconstitutional.
The ACLU estimates the stay will affect 100 to 200 people detained at US airports or in transit, but government lawyers have not confirmed the figure.
Lee Relearnt, deputy legal director of the Immigrants Rights Project, presented the case in court and was greeted to cheers from crowds waiting outside.
He told the crowd: “The judge, in a nutshell, saw through what the government was doing and gave us what we wanted, which was to block the Trum order and not allow the government to remove anybody who has come and is caught up in the order, nationwide.”
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The President's executive order has been temporarily halted.
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Protests were held in response to the President's executive order.
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Crowds cheered outside the court after the ruling was made
The ruling was given by Judge Ann Donnelly of the Eastern District of New York during a hearing called in response to the President’s executive order, blocking people from seven majority-Muslim countries entering the US and putting a temporary halt to refugee admissions.
US Customs and Border Protection has denied more than 170 people entry to the US as of Saturday night, according to officials at the Department of Homeland Security.
Bizarrely, reports claim US officials have told airline trade group IATA that the visitor ban also extends to flight crews.
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Trump's vow to enact a "complete shutdown" of Muslims entering the US in 2015 sparked outrage.
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Protestors have gathered for the second weekend in a row against the President.
A senior Homeland Security officer has said authorities are carefully monitoring the litigation on Trump's executive order, but they had not yet seen a copy of the emergency stay issued by the judge.
The officer added authorities would implement any appropriate orders accordingly.
Express.co.uk has contacted the White House for comment.
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