Monday, June 26, 2017

U.S. Supreme Court Agrees To Review Trump Muslim Travel Ban


The Supreme Court announced today that it will review the constitutionality of President Trump’s revised Muslim travel ban this fall.

The decision includes allowing part of the ban to go into effect.

From the New York Times:

Mr. Trump’s revised executive order, issued in March, limited travel from six mostly Muslim countries for 90 days and suspended the nation’s refugee program for 120 days. The time was needed, the order said, to address gaps in the government’s screening and vetting procedures.

Two federal appeals courts have blocked critical parts of the order.

The administration had asked that the the lower-court ruling be stayed while the case moves forward. The court granted part of that request in its unsigned opinion.

“We grant the government’s applications to stay the injunctions, to the extent the injunctions prevent enforcement of” Mr. Trump’s executive order “with respect to foreign nationals who lack any bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.”

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, Va., ruled last month that the limits on travel from the six countries violated the First Amendment’s ban on government establishment of religion. Relying on Mr. Trump’s statements during the presidential campaign, where he called for a “Muslim ban,” the court said the order “drips with religious intolerance, animus and discrimination.”

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, recently blocked both the limits on travel and the suspension of the refugee program. It ruled on statutory rather than constitutional grounds, saying Mr. Trump had exceeded the authority granted him by Congress.

So, if you are a foreign national in one of those six Muslim-majority countries with a close family member in the United States, or a job offer from an American company, or an invitation to lecture an American audience, or an offer of admission from an American university, you can obtain a visa.

If you have no concrete ties or true business connection to the U.S., the Trump ban can keep you out of the U.S.

What I don't understand is: the purpose of the ban was to give the Trump administration 90 days to examine immigration processes. I'm assuming they've been doing this review anyway? By October we'll be long past 90 days. By October shouldn't the review be concluded and immigration rules adjusted?

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