Washington 5 Feb (ANA)- The US federal appeals court has rejected the Trump administration's request to reinstate a travel ban blocked by a federal judge on Friday. The late night ruling means the travel ban will remain suspended until the full case has been heard. The court gave the White House and the states challenging it a deadline of Monday to present more arguments. Two states argued that the travel ban, affecting people from seven mainly-Muslim countries, was unconstitutional. In its appeal, the Justice Department said Judge James Robart had overreached by "second guessing" the president on a national security matter. It also argued that only the president could decide who can enter or stay in the US. In Friday's case, the Justice Department had argued that states did not have the authority to challenge a presidential executive order. Lawyers for the states of Washington and Minnesota had argued that the ban was unconstitutional because it denied people with valid entry documents the right to travel without due process. It also violated freedom of religion rights by appearing to target Muslims, they said.(ANA)

FA/ANA/5 February 2017----