A federal judge in Honolulu is allowing Hawaii's amended lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's revised travel ban to move forward.
U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson on Wednesday granted the state's request to continue with the case and set a hearing for March 15 — the day before Trump's revised ban is due to go into effect.
Hawaii filed the amended federal suit Tuesday night. It says the order will harm the Muslim population of Hawaii.
The state's previous suit had been on hold while a nationwide injunction on the initial ban remained in place. Watson granted the state's request to lift the stay so it could file the amended lawsuit.
The new order bars new visas for people from six Muslim-majority countries and temporarily shuts down America's refugee program, affecting would-be visitors and immigrants from Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Libya.
Hawaii's lawsuit had been on hold while a nationwide injunction on the initial order remained in place. This is the second time Hawaii has asked a judge to lift the stay in order to file an amended lawsuit.
Last month, U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson in Honolulu allowed the state to file an amended lawsuit adding the Muslim Association of Hawaii's imam as a plaintiff. The mother-in-law of Imam Ismail Elshikh is a Syrian national living in Syria, according to the lawsuit that details the effect the order would have had on Elshikh's family and others in Hawaii.
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According to the motion, attorneys for the government had no position on the request to file another amended lawsuit.
Hawaii plans to file its amended lawsuit and a motion for a temporary restraining order on Wednesday.
Tuesday's motion proposes a hearing on March 15, a day before the revised order goes into effect.
Hawaii has hired a Washington, D.C., law firm to help. Josh Wisch, a spokesman for the attorney general's office, said last month the firm is giving the state a 50 percent discount.
"This new executive order is nothing more than Muslim Ban 2.0," Chin said in a statement Monday. "Under the pretense of national security, it still targets immigrants and refugees. It leaves the door open for even further restrictions."
