In a short order published on Wednesday, the Supreme Court responded to the Trump administration’s request to clarify what they meant when they said that people with a close family relationship to people in the U.S. would not fall under President Donald Trump‘s travel ban. The administration’s request came after a District Court judge in Hawaii said that it includes grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, and siblings in law, which was much broader than Trump administration guidelines. The Court denied the administration’s request, effectively keeping the District Court’s decision in place when it comes to that issue.
However, the Supreme Court did put a stay on the District Court’s ruling when it comes to certain refugees, particularly “refugees covered by a formal assurance.” The District Court had said that travel ban wouldn’t apply to refugees in situations where the U.S. had an agreement in place with a resettlement agency. The court’s reason being that this qualified as a relationship with a U.S. institution, and thus fell under the Supreme Court’s decision for who was exempt.
The Supreme Court disagreed with this interpretation, and blocked the District Court’s ruling as it applied to those refugees, at least until the Trump administration’s appeal of the overall case to the Ninth Circuit is resolved.
