US government asks court to reinstate Trump travel ban

The document, which argues that barring immigrants from seven mainly-Muslim countries is a lawful exercise of the president's authority, was filed on Monday with the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals.

The move by the justice department comes after an appeals court over the weekend denied the Trump administration's request to immediately set aside a Seattle judge's ruling that put a hold on the ban nationwide.

The federal appeals court asked lawyers for the states of Washington and Minnesota, which are legally challenging Trump's order, and the justice department to argue at 23:00 GMT on Tuesday whether the ban should remain shelved.

"What will be argued in court is a very narrow legal interpretation, which is does the president have the right to issue executive orders which can stop people coming into the country," Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, DC, said.

Washington state and Minnesota sued Trump last week, saying the ban harmed residents and effectively mandated discrimination.

The justice department says the issue is a matter of national security and Trump's executive order was well within his authority.

"The noise that is coming out of the White House in the last few hours is that they believe they are on very solid ground and that the executive order will soon be resumed," Al Jazeera's Fisher said.

Earlier on Monday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the Trump administration was confident it will prevail in the lawsuit.

"Clearly the law is on the president's side," Spicer told reporters on Air Force One.

"He has broad discretion to do what's in the nation's best interest to protect our people, and we feel very confident that we will prevail in this matter," he added.

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