Supreme Court Allows Limited Version of Trump’s Travel Ban to Take Effect

The Supreme Court issued a decision today lifting parts of the injunction against Trump’s executive order seeking to ban foreign nationals of six countries from entering the United States for 90 days. The ruling effectively allows foreigners with ties or relationships in the U.S. to enter the country, but allows the government to prohibit entry of persons who have never been here, or who have no family, business or other ties with the U.S. Under the terms of the executive order, the travel ban applies to nationals of Libya, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The unsigned opinion specifies that foreign nationals who wish to visit or live with family members should be allowed into the U.S., as should students admitted to a U.S. university.

Today’s decision allows the Court to partially enforce the travel ban for 90 days, during which time the Trump administration is supposed to review its vetting procedures for allowing foreign nationals to enter the country. The Court agreed to hear arguments regarding the constitutionality of the travel ban when it reconvenes in October but indicated that the case could be moot by then if the government completes its review of vetting procedures with the expected 90-day period.

The travel ban has been challenged by civil rights groups who note that it was motivated by unconstitutional discrimination against Muslims. The six countries specified in the executive order are all majority Muslim. The Washington Post has published a good summary of the history of the travel ban and the court challenges that led to today’s Supreme Court decision.

Further Reading: 

• Constitutional Law