Back to All Articles
Trump’s Revised Travel Ban Halted By Federal Courts

On March 15, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) enjoining the government from enforcing or implementing Section 2 [90-day travel ban] and Section 6 [120-day ban on U.S. refugee program] of Trump’s March 6, 2017 Executive Order nationwide.  In granting the TRO, the court pointed to evidence of both discriminatory intent and impact, noting that there was “unrebutted evidence of religious animus,” and a “dearth of evidence indicating a national security purpose.” The court also concluded that the government did not make “constitutionally significant” changes to the rewritten order. The court will set an expedited hearing schedule to determine whether the TRO should be extended.

On March 6, 2017, President Trump reissued the Executive Order, “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States,” effective March 16, 2017. The previous Executive Order of January 27, 2017, was revoked and replaced with this reissued Order.  The new Executive Order bans immigrant and nonimmigrant entries for nationals of six designated countries – Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen – for at least 90 days beginning on March 16, 2017. However, the new Order no longer includes Iraqi nationals in the 90-day travel ban; allows case-by-case waivers in certain situations; and exempts certain categories of individuals completely, including LPRs and current visa holders. Additionally, the order suspends the USRAP for 120 days after March 16, 2017 (subject to certain case-by-case exceptions), suspends the Visa Interview Waiver Program, calls for heightened vetting and screening procedures, and directs DHS to expedite completion of a biometric entry-exit tracking system.

Although the court’s order temporarily restrains the government from implementing the revised order, subject to the terms of the order should be extremely wary of traveling until a final resolution is achieved.

Tagged With
Executive Order, Hawaii District Court, Muslim Ban, Travel Ban, Trump