CHICAGO (CBS) — President Donald Trump fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates on Monday, after she ordered Justice Department lawyers not to defend his travel ban in court.
The president replaced Yates with Dana Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, who was sworn in Monday night, and immediately directed the Justice Department to defend Trump’s executive order on immigration and refugees. Trump has said Boente will serve as acting attorney general until U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions is confirmed as the next U.S. Attorney General.
The order, signed Friday, imposed a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen. The order also bars any refugees from entering the country for 120 days.
Yates’ ouster comes as protests continue at airports across the country, voicing opposition to the travel ban.
Critics of the president’s executive order were expected to rally at O’Hare International Airport and other major airports across the country Tuesday morning, the fourth consecutive day of protests.
While Trump has said his order is about national security, others have questioned its legality.
Dozens of attorneys have been setting up shop at O’Hare since Saturday, offering free legal help to travelers affected by the president’s order. At least 18 people were detained on Saturday before they were released, after a federal judge in New York intervened, issuing a temporary order prohibiting the federal government from deporting people subject to the travel ban.
No travelers have been detained since then, although dozens have been questioned extensively as part of a “secondary inspection” process before they have been allowed to go on their way.
“We’re tracking two Jordanian nationals who were coming on tourist visas. One appears to have been sent back,” attorney Heather Donnell said.
Meantime, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Senate Democrats have announced plans to introduce legislation that would overturn Trump’s travel ban.
from CBS Chicago http://ift.tt/2jPZgik
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