A lawyer representing the Obama administration told a U.S. federal appeals court panel Tuesday that they support a decision to bar a Muslim intellectual entry into the U.S.
According to wire reports, Assistant U.S. Attorney David Jones echoed Bush administration policies to bar Swiss Muslim Tariq Ramadan from entering the United States.
Jones argued that the courts have no power to examine visa denials. Civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, had hoped last week's arguments would see a reversal of policies that they say exclude foreign scholars from visiting the United States due to their political beliefs.
Ramadan had been barred based on a provision of the USA Patriot Act that allows people to be excluded for supporting terrorism. The Oxford University professor has been a vocal critic of the war in Iraq.