The US Supreme Court ruled on Monday that President Donald Trump’s travel restrictions on eight nations can go into full effect while legal challenges are resolved.
The ruling means that most citizens from Syria, Iran, Somalia, Libya, Yemen, Chad, North Korea, and some from Venezuela will be denied entry into the United States. The severity of the restrictions vary but most citizens from these countries will be unable to visit the US at all.
The injunctions imposed by the lower courts blocking the ban were lifted by seven of the nine justices of the Supreme Court. The two who would have allowed the injunctions to remain in place were Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Justice Sonia Sotomayor. This is not the final ruling, however, the US Supreme Court found that it was unnecessary to block the ban while it decided whether the president’s order violates constitutional measures against discrimination.
Arguments will be heard in federal appeal courts in California and Virginia later this week before the case will eventually make its way back to the Supreme Court. Legal analysts have said that the decision to lift the injunctions on the ban suggests that the final ruling may be in favour of Trump’s administration.
This is the third version of the order since Trump took office in January:
January: A week after taking office, Trump signs an order to ban those from seven Muslim-majority countries from the United States for 90 days, including refugees. This led to several legal challenges.
March: The second version of the order lifted restrictions on Syrian refugees and those from Iraq. The Supreme Court allowed this to go into effect with an exemption for those with a “bona fide” connection to the US.
September: The latest version added North Korea and Venezuela to the list of restricted nations. This is now being allowed to go into effect pending legal challenges.
The lower courts have said that the travel ban is in violation of the first amendment of the constitution of the United States which protects freedom of religion. The president insists the ban is necessary for reasons of national security.
