The Latest SCOTUS Ruling Lifts Restrictions on Trump's Travel Ban, For Now

On Tuesday night, the Supreme Court agreed to allow the Trump administration to continue to bar most refugees during the 120 day pause of the refugee program under the President's executive order. The Supreme Court blocked a ruling from a federal appeals court that would have restricted Trump’s travel ban and allowed as many as 24,000 refugees to enter the country by October.  

According to The Hill, the federal appeals court ruling “said the administration cannot ban refugees who have formal assurances from resettlement agencies or are in the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.”

Last June, the high court ruled that the travel ban could only go into effect for those who do not have a “bona fide” relationship with someone in the US, although the definition of “bona fide” is fuzzy.  The Trump administration objected to this most recent appeals court ruling by stating that the relationship between refugees and these resettlement agencies is not “bona fide.”  The Supreme Court agreed with the Trump administration on this but did not explain their reasoning.

According to CNN, it’s unclear whether this Supreme Court ruling should offer hope to supporters of the travel ban, or if it simply “[reflects] a desire on the part of the justices to maintain the status quo until the justices can hear the case next month.”

There has been a lot of push-back against this ruling since the executive order was first announced — especially from the state of Hawaii, which is currently suing the Trump administration over the travel ban.

The attorney representing Hawaii, Neal Katyal, said, “By the Government’s own admission, these refugees have already been approved by the Department of Homeland Security. It is therefore exceedingly unlikely that they represent a security threat.”

We will determine more about the future of travel ban next month (Oct. 10) when the Supreme Court will hear arguments in two cases arguing the travel ban.