The U.S. courts have dealt further setbacks to President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily barring entry into the United States for all refugees as well as visitors from seven predominantly Muslim countries.
The order has already been blocked by U.S. courts on the west coast, but a U.S. district court hearing a challenge to the order from the U.S. state of Virginia also issued a preliminary injunction against parts of the order late on February 13.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said that the U.S. Justice Department had provided "no evidence" that the order should be allowed to stay in effect for people holding valid visas.
Meanwhile, the Seattle court which originally suspended Trump's order once again overruled the White House and said it would proceed with hearing the case against the order.
Trump attorneys had asked the court to put off further action on the case while they seek a rehearing from a San Francisco appeals court, which last week agreed to keep the lower court's block on the order in place.
The Seattle court judge, James Robart, who Trump had criticized as "political" for his original block on the order, said on February 13 that he was "surprised" Trump's lawyers were seeking to further delay the case.