The US Supreme Court has removed major parts of lower court orders that had previously halted the president’s contentious travel ban, which targets visa applicants from six predominantly Muslim countries.
According to the Supreme Court, the 90-day restriction on visitors from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, along with the 120-day pause on the US refugee resettlement program, can now be applied to individuals who do not have a “credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.”
This decision means that people from these countries who have family in the US or valid reasons for work or education will not be affected by the new ban. This is a significant portion of those who would have been impacted otherwise.
The updated ban also doesn’t apply to anyone who already holds a valid visa to enter the US. This is different from the original ban, which left many individuals stranded at airports worldwide, leading to widespread outrage and protests.
The new restrictions are most likely to affect prospective tourists from the six specified countries who do not have family ties to the US, as well as refugees escaping violence in their home countries, with a particular impact on those fleeing the civil war in Syria.
Decisions about what qualifies as a bona fide relationship will be made by the Trump administration’s state department. Therefore, it will be important to monitor the criteria they use as the ban is implemented this summer.