June 28, 2017 The Skanner Page 9
News
Trump Travel Ban Partly Reinstated; Fall Court Arguments Set
By MARK SHERMAN
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The
Supreme Court is allow-
ing President Donald
Trump to forge ahead
with a limited version of
his ban on travel from six
mostly Muslim countries
to the U.S. Trump hailed
the decision as a “victo-
ry for national security,”
but it’s likely to set off a
new round of court dis-
putes over anti-terror
efforts and religious dis-
crimination.
The justices will hear
full arguments in Octo-
ber in the case that has
stirred heated emotions
across the nation and
pointed rebukes from
lower courts saying the
administration is target-
ing Muslims. Until then,
the court said Monday,
Trump’s ban on visitors
from Iran, Libya, Soma-
lia, Sudan, Syria and
Yemen can be enforced
if those visitors lack a
“credible claim of a bona
fide relationship with a
person or entity in the
United States.”
The ruling sets up a po-
tential clash between the
government and oppo-
nents of the ban over the
strength of visitors’ ties
to the United States. A
senior official said plans
already had been written
to enforce the ban ag-
gressively.
But immigrant groups
said relatively few peo-
ple try to enter the Unit-
ed States without well-es-
tablished ties.
Those groups said they
will be sending law-
yers and monitors back
to American airports,
where the initial, imme-
diate
implementation
of the ban in January
caused chaos and confu-
sion.
State
Department
spokeswoman
Heath-
er Nauert said the ban
would be implemented
starting 72 hours after
being cleared by courts.
That means it will take
effect Thursday morn-
ing.
The president has de-
nied that the ban targets
Muslims but says it is
needed “to protect the
nation from terrorist
activities”
committed
by citizens of the six
countries. All six have
been designated as pre-
senting heightened con-
cerns about terrorism
and travel to the United
States.
The 90-day ban is nec-
essary to allow an inter-
nal review of screening
procedures for visa ap-
plicants from the coun-
tries, the administration
says. That review should
be complete before Oct.
2, the first day the jus-
tices could hear argu-
ments in their new term.
The ban will have run
its course by then, rais-
ing a question of whether
the justices will even is-
sue a decision in the case
AP PHOTO/J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE
Court says visitors to U.S. must provide ‘credible claim’ of a relationship with a U.S. person or entity
People visit the Supreme Court in Washington June 26 as justices
issued their final rulings for the term, in Washington. The high
court is letting a limited version of the Trump administration ban
on travel from six mostly Muslim countries take effect, a victory for
President Donald Trump in the biggest legal controversy of his young
presidency.
or dismiss it because it
has been overtaken by
events.
The court asked both
sides to address the is-
sue of timing, along with
questions about wheth-
er the ban is aimed at
Muslims, the impact of
Trump’s
provocative
campaign
statements
and federal courts’ au-
thority to restrain the
president in the area of
immigration.
A 120-day ban on refu-
gees also is being allowed
to take effect on a similar,
limited basis.
Three of the court’s
conservative
justices
said they would have let
the administration ap-
ply the bans without the
limits imposed by their
colleagues.
Justice Clarence Thom-
as, joined by Samuel
Alito and Neil Gorsuch,
said the government has
shown it is likely to win
the legal case in the end.
Thomas said the govern-
ment’s interest in pre-
serving national security
outweighs any hardship
to people denied entry
into the country.
Trump
hailed
the
court’s order as a “clear
victory for our national
security,” especially after
lower court rulings that
blocked the travel ban in
its entirety. He said in a
statement that his “num-
ber one responsibility” is
to keep Americans safe.
His
administration’s
implementation plans,
largely orchestrated by
White House adviser
Stephen Miller, focus on
refusing entry to people
who are unable to show
a substantial and pre-ex-
isting tie to a person or
institution in the United
States. The plans were
described by a senior of-
ficial who was familiar
with them, speaking on
condition of anonymity
because this person was
not authorized to discuss
them publicly by name.
But some immigration
lawyers said relatively
few people would fall
under the ban because
people coming to study,
work or visit family
members already have
sufficient relationships
with others already is in
the country.
“This order, properly
construed, should really
allow for only the nar-
rowest implementation
of any part of the ban. It’s
going to be really import-
ant for us to make sure
the government abides
by the terms of the order
and does not try to use it
as a backdoor into imple-
menting the full- scale
Muslim ban,” said Omar
Jadwat, the American
Civil Liberties Union
lawyer who is represent-
ing some of the challeng-
ers to the travel ban.
The court’s opinion
explained the kinds of re-
lationships people from
the six countries must
demonstrate to obtain a
U.S. visa.
Fellowship Missionary
Baptist Church
Invites you to
join the celebration for
Pastor & Lady Johnny Pack’s
30th Pastoral Appreciation
Sunday, July 16th, 2017 at 3:00 pm
THEME:
“No Weapon Formed Against Thee Shall
Prosper” Isaiah 54:17
GUEST:
Goodwill Missionary Baptist Church
Bishop Garry Tyson, Seattle, WA
Reverend Jonathan Bolden, Chairperson & Sister Anita Ball, Co-Chairperson
Dr. Johnny Pack IV, Pastor
FELLOWSHIP MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH
4009 N. Missouri Avenue, Portland, OR 97227 • 503-249-0377