A federal appeals court in California has ruled that the Trump administration's long-delayed travel ban can go into partial effect, allowing the government to temporarily keep travelers from six Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit puts on hold a lower court ruling last month that blocked the administration's ban against travelers from Syria, Iran, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, and Chad.
The appellate panel, all Clinton appointees, ruled that a preliminary injunction issued by District Judge Derrick Watson in Honolulu may not go into full effect. But it would allow "foreign nationals who have a credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States." The panel said that would include "grandparents, grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins."
Judge Watson's ruling came in response to a challenge filed by the state of Hawaii. Neither the appellate nor the lower court rulings affect travelers from North Korea and Venezuela. In his preliminary injunction, Watson did not include people from those two countries.
In a statement, Hawaii Attorney General Douglas Chin said, "Today's decision today closely tracks guidance previously issued by the Supreme Court. I'm pleased that family ties to the U. S., including grandparents, will be respected."
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice, Lauren Ehrsam, said, "We are reviewing the court's order and the government will begin enforcing the travel proclamation consistent with the partial stay. We believe that the proclamation should be allowed to take effect in its entirety."
This latest legal development tests whether Trump Travel Ban 3.0 will withstand judicial scrutiny. The first was blocked by the courts and the second expired before it could win court approval.
There is a parallel case winding through the federal court in Maryland where a judge also blocked Trump's travel ban in mid-October. U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang's order was less sweeping, although it also favored travelers with a "bona fide" relationship with a person or entity in the United States.
As the Two-Way reported, "In his ruling, Chuang wrote that President Trump's own tweets helped convince him that the latest policy is an 'inextricable re-animation of the twice-enjoined Muslim ban' that Trump called for on the campaign trail and is therefore likely to be found unconstitutional."
An appeal of that ruling will be heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit on December 8.
The 9th Circuit Appeals Court will reexamine the case on December 6.
As the Washington Post points out, in order to survive, the travel ban would need a green light from both appeals courts.
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