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Trump’s New Travel Ban Dealt First Blow


A member of forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad stands with a civilian on the rubble of the Carlton Hotel, in the government controlled area of Aleppo, Syria, Dec. 17, 2016.
A member of forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad stands with a civilian on the rubble of the Carlton Hotel, in the government controlled area of Aleppo, Syria, Dec. 17, 2016.

A federal judge in the northern U.S. state of Wisconsin has blocked the enforcement of U.S. President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban that would prevent a Syrian mother and her surviving child from entering the country.

The woman and her daughter reside in war-torn Aleppo. The husband has already been granted asylum in Wisconsin.

U.S. District Judge William Conley on Friday issued the temporary restraining order that applies only to the woman and child.

Trump’s new ban goes into effect March 16. The mother, however, is scheduled to travel to Jordan for visa interviews at the U.S. embassy and the process could extend beyond the March date.

Conley said the husband had “presented some likelihood of success on the merits” of his case and his family faces “significant risk of irreparable harm” if forced to stay in Syria.

Earlier this year, Trump issued a temporary travel ban barring admission to the U.S. to citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The ban was halted after the state of Washington won a nationwide federal court order blocking its enforcement.

The revised ban drops Iraq from the list of countries and makes other changes.

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