President Donald Trump's immigration ban has been halted by the Eastern District of New York, with an emergency stay being issued Saturday night following protests across the country.
Trump's ban meant that immigrants arriving in the U.S. from seven predominately Muslim countries had been detained and were awaiting deportation. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a court petition on behalf of these individuals, which led to U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly's emergency order to halt the ban.
The order means that border agents can not remove any traveler who arrived in the U.S. with a valid visa from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen, or anyone carrying an approved refugee application.
Trump describes his ban as a step towards stopping "radical Islamic terrorists." The decision has been greeted with mass protests across the U.S., with large groups occupying major airports such as JFK in New York. Crowds reacted to news of the halt with cheers earlier tonight.