Trump immigration ban loses first legal battle

The decision accompanied growing resistance to Trump's crackdown on Muslim immigration, with large protests spreading at major airports across the country.

Trump's sweeping executive order, signed Friday, suspends the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days and bars visas for travelers from seven Muslim majority countries for the next three months.

The move, which was implemented immediately by US authorities, sparked large protests at major airports across the country. At New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, some of the 2,000 demonstrators there chanted "Let them in, let them in!"

Photo from video

Large protests took place at the main airports for Washington, Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas.

Photo from video

Photo from video

Donnelly's decision to issue a temporary stay -- which stopped short of ruling on the constitutionality of Trump's order -- came after dozens of people were detained at US airports following Trump's actions.

The exact number of those affected is unclear, but the judge ordered the government to provide lists of all those detained at US airports since the measure went into effect.

Sending those travelers back to their home countries following Trump's order exposes them to "substantial and irreparable injury," wrote Donnelly, who was appointed by Trump's Democratic predecessor Barack Obama.

A second federal judge in Virginia also issued a temporary order restricting immigration authorities for seven days from deporting legal permanent residents detained at Dulles Airport just outside Washington, according to US media.

Democratic Representative Jerrold Nadler, who went to JFK to press for the release of those detained under Trump's measure, said "We must fight this executive order in the streets, in the courts, anywhere, anytime. We must resist. We must fight."

Trump's pronouncement on Muslim immigration makes good on one of his most controversial campaign promises to subject travelers from Islamic countries to "extreme vetting" -- which he declared would make America safe from "radical Islamic terrorists."

The targeted countries are Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The ban has triggered political backlash, including from Trump's fellow Republicans.

Orrin Hatch, the most senior Republican in the US Senate, spoke of America's "legal and moral obligations to help the innocent victims of these terrible conflicts."

The rapid mobilization against the order suggests a protracted battle is shaping up between migrant advocates and Trump and his administration.

The battle could end up in the US Supreme Court, which has not ruled on this type of immigration issue since the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.

A White House official said that holders of a green card -- which allows permanent residence in the US and often takes years to obtain -- who are abroad should first go to the US consulate to obtain a document allowing return to the US.

Green card holders in the US who want to travel abroad must obtain approval from a consulate official.

The State Department has said that people from the seven countries under the 90-day travel ban will be prohibited entry no matter their visa status. Only those holding a dual citizenship with the US will be allowed to enter