U.S. appeals court sets May hearing on revised Trump travel order

[April 04, 2017]    By Dan Levine

(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court said on Monday it would hold a hearing in May over a Hawaii federal judge's order that blocked President Donald Trump's revised travel restrictions on citizens from six Muslim-majority countries.

President Donald Trump waits for the arrival of Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 3, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals previously upheld a Seattle judge's block of Trump's first travel order. The appeals court did not say on Monday which three judges would preside over the latest appeal.

Trump signed the revised ban last month, in a bid to overcome legal problems with his January executive order that caused chaos at airports and sparked mass protests before its enforcement was halted in February.

Trump has said the travel ban is needed for national security.

The state of Hawaii challenged the revised travel directive as unconstitutional religious discrimination. Hawaii and other opponents of the ban claim it is based on Trump's election campaign promise of "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States."

The Justice Department has also appealed a ruling from a Maryland judge against Trump's revised executive order. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia scheduled a hearing in that case for May 8.

(Reporting by Dan Levine in San Francisco; Editing by Peter Cooney)

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