US judge partially blocks Trump's refugee ban order

A federal judge in Seattle has partially blocked Donald Trump's executive order, temporarily suspending admission from 11 mostly Muslim countries, which the US president issued in October. US District Court Judge James Robart on Saturday issued a nationwide preliminary injunction ordering the US government to process applications under the family refugee reunification program, Reuters reported. The directive, however, does not apply to people without a "bona fide relationship" to entities in the US. The Seattle judge added that Trump's October order violated provisions in immigration laws. Robart's ruling came in response to lawsuits filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Jewish Family Services chapters, the International Refugee Assistance Project, the National Immigration Law Center and HIAS, a Jewish refugee charity.