Hawaii Attorney General Douglas Chin says he expected the government to appeal. Enforcement of both provisions of the ban is prohibited nationwide until he orders otherwise.
Watson also refused to narrow his ruling to only apply to the six-nation ban, as the government requested.
The judge who halted President Donald Trump's revised travel ban on refugees and arrivals from six mainly Muslim countries has extended his order, dealing another blow to the White House.
Hawaii and other opponents of the ban claim that the motivation behind it is based on religion and Trump's election campaign promise of "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States".
"The Justice Department strongly disagrees with the federal district court's ruling". He said suspending the refugee program has no impact on Hawaii.
"The Court recognizes that it is not the case that the Administration's past conduct must forever taint any effort by it to address the security concerns of the nation", Watson wrote.
The travel ban is also being challenged in a federal case originating from the state of Maryland.
The Department of Justice has appealed a Hawaii court order that brought President Donald Trump's travel ban to a national halt. Readler said a freeze on the USA refugee program had no effect on Hawaii.
Hawaii has become the first state in the United States to file a lawsuit against Trump's revised travel ban.
Kremlin says Putin may meet USA's Tillerson on Wednesday
But the agenda is now likely to be dominated by last week's suspected chemical weapons attack that killed at least 87 civilians. The interview was broadcast as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson held his first meeting with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
This means that the ban on the grant of visas for 90-day to citizens of Syria, Yemen, Iran, Libya, Somalia and Sudan, and the suspension of the refugee reception program for four months, will remain without coming into force unless a higher court changes Watson's order.
The Trump administration is appealing a Hawaii federal judge's ruling blocking President Trump's revised travel ban.
Watson says "it came immediately on the heels of Judge Chuang's decision". The lawsuit asked a federal judge to issue a temporary restraining order blocking implementation of the new executive order.
U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson is listening to arguments Wednesday.
Trump's nominee to replace Scalia, appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch, is facing intense resistance from Democratic senators who are vowing to block his confirmation.
Like his temporary order, Watson's new order notes that Hawaii has shown the state's universities and tourism industry will suffer from the ban. "With a preliminary injunction in place, people in Hawaii with family in the six affected Muslim-majority countries - as well as Hawaii students, travelers, and refugees across the world - face less uncertainty", Chin said".
Judge Watson initially issued a temporary block on March 15, hours before the revised executive order signed March 6 was set to go into effect.
Some even called for tourists to boycott the state over the judge's defiance.
Watson's indefinite hold is "just the latest step that will allow the administration to appeal", Spicer said.
Comments