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Syrian refugee Baraa Haj Khalaf, shortly after arriving at O'Hare International Airport on February 7, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois.

Joshua Lott / AFP / Getty Images

WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court will be issuing its ruling Thursday on whether to grant the federal government's request that it be allowed to enforce President Trump's refugee and travel ban executive order while the case challenging the ban makes its way through the courts.

At issue is whether the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit should issue a stay of US District Judge James Robart's Feb. 3 order halting enforcement of major parts of the ban. Robart's decision led the federal government to begin allowing travel from the seven affected majority-Muslim countries and allowing the refugee program to continue.

The Justice Department quickly filed request with Ninth Circuit, asking the trial court's order to be stayed, or put on hold, while the merits of the case could be hashed out in court. The appeals court heard arguments over the government's request on Feb. 7. The three judge panel was skeptical of the government's request, with one judge from the panel also expressing skepticism of the broad scope of Robart's order.

This is a developing story. Please check back at BuzzFeed News for the latest news.

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