Seattle judge ices states’ challenge to latest travel ban

SEATTLE – A federal judge in Seattle has put on hold a challenge by Washington and several other states to the Trump administration’s latest travel ban.

U.S. District Judge James Robart, who blocked the initial ban on travelers from several predominantly Muslim nations early this year, noted in his decision Friday that the latest iteration has already been blocked by federal courts in Hawaii and Maryland.

Because the issues raised there are similar to the ones raised by Washington, Oregon, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and California in the Seattle case, he said those challenges should play out before the Seattle case proceeds.

The Trump administration announced the most recent restrictions in September. They affect citizens of Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen – and some Venezuelan government officials and their families.

A hearing in the Seattle case had been set for Monday.