More refugees, relatives to be exempt from Trump’s travel ban, U.S. judge rules
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A federal judge has expanded the list of family members allowed to travel to the U.S. from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen.
USA TODAY
More refugees and visitors from six majority-Muslim nations targeted by President Trump’s temporary travel ban will be allowed to enter the United States under a ruling issued by a federal judge in Hawaii.
U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson in Honolulu ruled Thursday that the Trump administration was “unduly restrictive” in implementing its ban based on guidance from the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court last month allowed a scaled-down version of the travel ban to go into effect, but ruled that foreigners with close relationships to U.S. persons or entities could not be barred. The Trump administration defined that close relationship as a parent, spouse, fiance, son, daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law or sibling already in the U.S.
Watson accused the administration of “cherry-picking” which relationships it would respect, and ordered the administration to allow grandparents, grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins of people in the U.S.
Trump’s order calls for a 90-day ban on entry to the U.S. from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, and a 120-day ban on admitting all refugees to give the administration time to improve screening efforts to ensure terrorists do not sneak into the country.
“Had the Supreme Court intended to protect only immediate family members and parents-in-law, surely it could have said so. It did not,” Watson wrote in his ruling. “Common sense, for instance, dictates that close family members be defined to include grandparents.”
Watson also said refugees working with a resettlement agency also must be admitted into the country, reversing the administration’s stance that those people did not not have the “bona fide” relationship with a U.S. entity that the Supreme Court said grants entry.
The State Department estimates that at least half of all refugees who enter the U.S. have a relative already living in the country.Â
Watson wrote: “An assurance from a United States refugee resettlement agency, in fact, meets each of the Supreme Court’s touchstones: it is formal, it is a documented contract, it is binding, it triggers responsibilities and obligations, including compensation, it is issued specific to an individual refugee only when that refugee has been approved for entry by the Department of Homeland Security, and it is issued in the ordinary course, and historically has been for decades.”
“Bona fide does not get any more bona fide than that,” he said.
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Hawaii Attorney General Douglas Chin said he was relieved by the ruling.
“The federal court today makes clear that the U.S. government may not ignore the scope of the partial travel ban as it sees fit,” Chin said in a statement. “Family members have been separated and real people have suffered enough.”
The Department of Justice, which is defending Trump’s travel ban in court, did not comment on the ruling. The State Department, which approves visas for foreign travelers and refugees, said it was reviewing Watson’s order and would work with Justice lawyers to ensure “immediate implementation.”Â
Watson’s ruling comes in the same week the U.S. admitted its 50,000th refugee for the 2017 fiscal year, reaching the annual cap established by Trump that is down from the 110,000 cap established by President Barack Obama in his final year in office.
That means the administration will stop accepting new refugees for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. The only exceptions will be those with close family relationships as defined by the Supreme Court.
Refugees are people who flee their home countries to escape war, persecution or natural disasters, and those who enter the U.S. must undergo a long series of background checks and in-person interviews, an intense process that can last up to two years.
In allowing a limited version of Trump’s ban to take effect, the Supreme Court did not rule on whether it violates the Constitution’s protection for religion by targeting Muslims. The court said it would hears arguments on that issue when it reconvenes in the fall, although it may become moot if the administration concludes its vetting procedures this summer.
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Rama Issa, right, executive director of New York’s Arab American coalition, gets teary-eyed during a press conference with Murad Awawdeh, right, of the New York immigration coalition, and Yaritza Mendez, center, citywide outreach coordinator of Make the Road speak regarding tighter restrictions on travel to the the U.S. from six mostly Muslim nations, at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Issa, who is engaged to be married this fall, hope relatives living in Syria may still be able to get a visa to visit her. “I would love for them to be at this wedding, and unfortunately, they aren’t going to be able to be here,” said Issa. The restrictions take effect Thursday evening.Â
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