Washington – U.S. President Donald Trump had announced that he will be considering several options in face of the judicial block of his travel ban for seven Muslim countries.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on his way to Florida, he said he was confident that he could win any legal battles. But he indicated he was also thinking about alternative strategies.
Trump’s original order, which he called a national security measure meant to head off attacks by extremist militants, barred people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering for 90 days and all refugees for 120 days, except refugees from Syria, who were banned indefinitely.
A federal judge in Seattle suspended the order last Friday after its legality was challenged by Washington state. The court said the ban violates constitutional principles. That ruling was upheld by an appeals court in San Francisco on Thursday, raising questions about Trump’s next step.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ unanimously decided to pause the president’s executive order.
When asked by reporters about the new order and what it may contain, Trump said that it will include new security measures.
“We have very, very strong vetting. I call it extreme vetting and we’re going very strong on security. We’re going to have people coming to our country that want to be here for good reasons,” he stressed.
The President took it to Twitter announcing that he was confident that his lawyers would win the argument before the country’s highest court. In another tweet, he said: “SEE YOU IN COURT, THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!”
Trump declared that he will continue to do his best for the safety of the country, promising that he will introduce new results as of next week.
He added: “We will continue to go through the court process, and ultimately I have no doubt that we’ll win that particular case.”
Meanwhile, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) teamed up with police forces and local authorities in several states on the Mexican border during a wide-ranged arrest campaign.
The Mexican government warned Friday of a “new reality” for its citizens living in the United States and advised them to “take precautions” following the deportation of an undocumented mother after a routine visit with U.S. immigration authorities.
ICE said most of the people targeted in homes and workplaces from Southern California to Atlanta and other cities were criminals.
Activists estimated the number of arrested illegal immigrants to be of 500.
Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos, 36, of Mesa, Arizona, was taken into custody Wednesday during a routine check-in at the central Phoenix offices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Over the past four years, federal immigration authorities had given her a pass to remain in the U.S. rather than deport her back to her native Mexico. But this time, the mother of two children born in the U.S., was deported to Nogales, Sonora, on Thursday.
Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying the case illustrates a new reality for the Mexican community living in the United States, facing the most severe implementation of immigration control measures.
Mexican consulates “have intensified their work of protecting fellow nationals, foreseeing more severe immigration measures to be implemented by the authorities of this country, and possible violations to constitutional precepts during such operations and problems with due process,” the statement added.
The ministry then advised the entire Mexican community to take precautions and stay in touch with nearest consulate, to get the help needed to cope with a situation of this kind.
In a related matter, Trump said he would reduce the price of the wall he wants built on the U.S. border with Mexico.
“I am reading that the great border WALL will cost more than the government originally thought, but I have not gotten involved in the … design or negotiations yet,” Trump tweeted.
“When I do, just like with the F-35 FighterJet or the Air Force One Program, price will come WAY DOWN!”, he said in another tweet.
Trump’s response came after media reports estimated the price of a wall along the entire border would cost $21.6 billion. During his presidential campaign Trump had cited a $12 billion figure.