A federal judge in Seattle partially blocked US president Donald Trump's newest restrictions on refugee admissions on Saturday, the latest legal defeat for his efforts to curtail immigration and travel to the United States.
The decision by US District Judge James Robart is the first judicial curb on rules the Trump administration put into place in late October that have contributed significantly to a precipitous drop in the number of refugees being admitted into the country.
Refugees and groups that assist them argued in court that the administration's policies violated the Constitution and federal rulemaking procedures, among other claims. Department of Justice attorneys argued in part that US law grants the executive branch the authority to limit refugee admissions in the way that it had done so.
On October 24, the Trump administration effectively paused refugee admissions from 11 countries mostly in the Middle East and Africa, pending a 90-day security review, which was set to expire in late January.
The countries subject to the review are Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, North Korea, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. For each of the last three years, refugees from the 11 countries made up more than 40 per cent of US admissions. A Reuters review of State Department data showed that as the review went into effect, refugee admissions from the 11 countries plummeted.
Read more: Trump travel ban should not apply to people with strong US ties, court says
Judge Robart ruled that the administration could carry out the security review, but that it could not stop processing or admitting refugees from the 11 countries in the meantime, as long as those refugees have a "bona fide" connection to the United States.
As part of its new restrictions, the Trump administration had also paused a programme that allowed for family reunification for refugees, pending further security screening procedures being put into place.
Judge Robart ordered the government to re-start the programme, known as "follow-to-join". Approximately 2,000 refugees were admitted into the United States in fiscal year 2015 under the programme, according to Department of Homeland Security data.
Refugee advocacy groups praised Judge Robart's decision.
A Justice Department spokeswoman, Lauren Ehrsam, said the department disagrees with Judge Robart's ruling and is "currently evaluating the next steps".
Judge Robart, who was appointed to the bench by Republican former president George W Bush, emerged from relative obscurity in February, when he issued a temporary order to lift the first version of Mr Trump's travel ban.
On Twitter, Mr Trump called him a "so-called judge" whose "ridiculous" opinion "essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country".
Judge Robart's ruling represented the second legal defeat in two days for the Trump administration. On Friday, a US appeals court said Mr Trump's travel ban targeting six Muslim-majority countries should not be applied to people with strong US ties, but said its ruling would be put on hold pending a decision by the US Supreme Court.
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
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10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
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- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
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Copa del Rey
Barcelona v Real Madrid
Semi-final, first leg
Wednesday (midnight UAE)
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