Minnesota reaction to federal judge's ruling on executive order

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson, who was part of the lawsuit at the heart of Friday's decision, applauded the ruling in a statement.

"Five federal judges around the country have issued orders that restrict the travel ban executive order. I support strong measures to protect the security of the United States. I also support the bedrock of that security — namely, the Constitution of the United States."

On Wednesday, when Swanson's office announced that it would be joining Washington state in the lawsuit, Swanson said in a prepared statement that the temporary immigration ban "does not pass constitutional muster, is inconsistent with our history as a nation, and undermines our national security."

"America can keep its people safe without sacrificing bedrock constitutional principles," she wrote.

During a presentation Friday night at the Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center in Minneapolis, John Keller looked down at his phone for a brief moment to discover the news about the ruling.

Keller, executive director of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, broke the news to the roomful of Somali-Americans listening to his talk about Trump's immigration order.

"I came to work through the original level of confusion and this was another layer of confusion," he said of the news.

Keller said that while it was an exciting moment to experience with the room, he did not want to raise their expectations about the situation.

"It was a beautiful moment to demonstrate to a community that is feeling very vulnerable that one federal judge does have the power if the law is truly harmful or volatile to put the brakes on it," he said.