Trump's 'Muslim Ban' has been blocked, but it isn't over yet

U.S. President Donald Trump's ban on immigrants and refugees from several Muslim majority countries just hit another major setback.

On Thursday, a federal appeals court refused to reinstate Trump's ban on travelers from seven countries, which include Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Yemen, Iran, Somalia and Libya. The panel of three judges agreed unanimously to uphold a lower court ruling that suspended the travel ban on Feb. 4.

The judges said that the government didn't provide any evidence demonstrating that an individual "from any of the countries named in the order has perpetrated a terrorist attack in the United States." That's probably because, going all the way back to 1980, nationals of the seven banned countries have killed> exactly zero Americans in terrorist attacks.

While many are hailing this court ruling as a major blow to Trump's Islamophobic executive order, the battle isn't over yet. 

Here's what you should know.

Immediately following the court's decision, Trump tweeted "see you in court," which presumably means he plans to appeal the ruling.

Trump's administration now has a few options for appeal, David Levine, a law professor, told Al Jazeera. The president can appeal his case directly to the Supreme Court or request a review of the case from a larger panel of judges from the federal court.

If the case is taken to the Supreme Court, it will face a divided court that will likely decide the ban's final outcome. But, the Supreme Court could also simply defer the case, which would leave the lower courts ruling in place. Trump's team has 14 days to decide which option it will choose. 

No matter what happens, the federal courts' unanimous ruling signals that Trump's team will have an uphill battle moving forward. Those opposing the ban are optimistic about continued success as well. 

Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who has lead the charge against the ban, said: "We have seen him [Trump] in court twice, and we're two for two."

Top American business and tech giants – including Apple, Google, Facebook and Microsoft – have legally opposed Trump's ban. 

These leading American and global companies came together with many others earlier this week to file a "friend of the court" brief, opposing the travel ban. The brief argued that the ban "inflicts significant harm on American business," according to Reuters.

Many other American businesses have voiced solidarity with immigrants and refugees in different ways. Restaurants across the country have added notes on the bottom of receipts saying things like: "Immigrants make America great (they also cooked your food and served you today)."

The majority of Americans oppose Trump's travel ban and 55 percent see it as a direct attempt to ban Muslims from entering the U.S., according to a recent CNN/ORC poll.

Across the country, ordinary Americans and activists have been >rallying in opposition to Trump's executive order. As soon as the ban was implemented, thousands marched on airports across the country to protest the detention and deportation of visa and green card (permanent residency) holders.

For the time being, it looks like the American people are winning the fight against xenophobia, but Trump appears determined to press on.