Federal Judge Issues Emergency Stay Against Donald Trump’s “Muslim Ban”

The New York Times reported Saturday evening, “A federal judge blocked part of President Trump’s executive order on immigration on Saturday evening, ordering that refugees and others trapped at airports across the United States should not be sent back to their home countries. But the judge stopped short of letting them into the country or issuing a broader ruling on the constitutionality of Mr. Trump’s actions.

Lawyers who sued the government to block the White House order said the decision, which came after an emergency hearing in a New York City courtroom, could affect an estimated 100 to 200 people who were detained upon arrival at American airports in the wake of the order that Mr. Trump signed on Friday afternoon, a week into his presidency.

Judge Ann M. Donnelly of Federal District Court in Brooklyn, who was nominated by former President Barack Obama, ruled just before 9 p.m. that implementing Mr. Trump’s order by sending the travelers home could cause them ‘irreparable harm.'”

Multiple news outlets are reporting that a federal judge has just issued an emergency stay against Donald Trump’s Muslim-ban. The lawsuit was brought by the ACLU on behalf of two men detained at JFK airport in New York. The men were subsequently released.

UPDATE: At about 6:10, MSNBC’s Chris Hayes reported that in fact, a federal judge has issued a stay against Donald Trump’s executive order. The ruling means that any people being held at an airport can not be sent out of the country. It is unclear whether they will be allowed to leave airports or need to remain there until the lawsuit is completed.

UPDATE: MSNBC’s Ari Melber is reporting that the stay protects anyone who has already been lawfully admitted to the United States, but not those who newly begin the process of applying for entry into the U.S. The stay also protects refugees just arriving to the United States.

UPDATE: According to the Verge:

The federal court for the Eastern District of New York issued an emergency stay halting President Donald Trump’s executive order banning entry to the US from seven majority-Muslim countries tonight, following widespread protests at airports around the country.

The court ruled on a habeas corpus petition filed by the ACLU on behalf of Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, who were denied entry to the US upon landing at JFK airport in New York City and detained indefinitely by Customs and Border Patrol. Darweesh spent a decade working for the United States military in Iraq as an interpreter and engineer and had been granted an entry visa after background checks; Alshawi had been granted a visa in order to join his wife and son who are already permanent residents of the US after their similar service with the US military.

***This story is developing please check back for updates***