HONOLULU (AP) — The Latest on a hearing in federal court in Hawaii on President Donald Trump’s travel ban (all times local):
5:25 p.m.
Hawaii’s attorney general says a federal judge’s decision to extend an order blocking President Donald Trump’s travel ban affirms values of religious freedom.
State Attorney General Douglas Chin says Wednesday’s longer-lasting ruling means that Muslims and refugees will face less uncertainty.
U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson granted Hawaii’s request to extend his previous temporary block of provisions that would suspend new visas for six Muslim-majority countries and halt the nation’s refugee program.
Watson rejected the government’s request to narrow his ruling to apply only to the six-nation ban. Watson is stopping the government from enforcing both provisions until he orders otherwise.
Attorneys for the government didn’t immediately return requests for comment.
Watson issued his 24-page ruling several hours after a hearing on Hawaii’s request.
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10:50 a.m.
A federal judge in Hawaii says he’ll decide Wednesday whether to extend his temporary order blocking President Donald Trump’s travel ban until Hawaii’s lawsuit is resolved.
U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson heard arguments from state and government attorneys Wednesday.
Hawaii says the policy discriminates against Muslims and hurts the state’s economy, while the government says it falls within the president’s power to protect national security.
Department of Justice attorney Chad Readler argues Hawaii has only made generalized concerns about effects to students and tourism. He says suspending the refugee program has no impact on Hawaii.
But Hawaii Attorney General Douglas Chin said language in the revised ban is like a “neon sign flashing ‘Muslim Ban, Muslim Ban.'” And Chin says no one in the government has bothered to turn it off.
Watson says he’ll issue a written ruling before the end of Wednesday.
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10:10 a.m.
Government attorneys are urging a federal judge in Hawaii to be guided by narrower rulings blocking just one subsection of Trump’s travel ban.
Department of Justice attorney Chad Readler, participating in a Honolulu hearing by telephone Wednesday, says Hawaii has only made generalized concerns about effects to students and tourism. He says suspending the refugee program has no impact on Hawaii.
U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson noted earlier that the government only argued for a narrower interpretation after a ruling by a federal judge in Maryland was limited to the ban on new visas for people from six Muslim-majority countries.
That judge said it wasn’t clear that the suspension of the refugee program was similarly motivated by religious bias.
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10:05 a.m.
Hawaii’s attorney general is quoting President Donald Trump’s comments that the revised travel ban is a “watered down” version of the first one.
In arguments Wednesday, Attorney General Douglas Chin is urging a federal judge not to narrow his order blocking the ban on new visas for people from six Muslim-majority countries and suspension of the nation’s refugee program.
U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson notes that the government only argued for a narrower interpretation after a ruling by a federal judge in Maryland was limited to the six-nation ban.
Watson says “it came immediately on the heels of Judge Chuang’s decision.”
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9:40 a.m.
A hearing has started in federal court in Hawaii on whether a judge should extend his temporary order blocking President Donald Trump’s travel ban until the state’s lawsuit is resolved.
U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson is listening to arguments Wednesday. Even if he doesn’t issue a longer-lasting hold on the ban, his temporary block would stay in place until he rules otherwise.
Legal experts say it’s unlikely Watson would side with the Trump administration.
The state says the policy discriminates against Muslims, while the government says it falls within the president’s power to protect national security.
This month, Watson prevented the federal government from suspending new visas for people from six Muslim-majority countries and freezing the nation’s refugee program.
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8:30 p.m.
A federal judge in Hawaii is hearing arguments on whether to extend his temporary order blocking President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban.
A hearing in Honolulu is set for Wednesday. But even if U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson doesn’t put the ban on hold until the state’s lawsuit is resolved, his temporary block would remain until he rules otherwise.
Legal experts say it’s unlikely Watson would side with the Trump administration.
Government attorneys say that if the judge issues a longer-lasting hold, he should narrow his ruling to cover only the part of the ban that suspends new visas for people from six Muslim-majority countries.
They say the lawsuit doesn’t show how Hawaii would be harmed by other sections of the ban, including suspending the nation’s refugee program.
Watson also prevented that section from taking effect two weeks ago.
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