A federal judge has expanded the list of family members allowed to travel to the U.S. from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen. USA TODAY
Abdisellam Hassen Ahmed, a Somali refugee who had been stuck in limbo after President Trump temporarily banned refugee entries, walks with his wife Nimo Hashi, and his 2-year-old daughter, Taslim, after arriving at Salt Lake City International Airport on Feb. 10, 2017.(Photo: Rick Bowmer, AP)
The number of people covered by President Trump's travel ban dropped again this week after the State Department issued new guidance to its offices around the world.
State issued the new guidelines late Monday to comply with an order from a federal judge in Hawaii, who ruled that the Trump administration was using too narrow a definition of family when deciding who was affected by the ban.
The travel ban went into effect June 29 following a Supreme Court ruling. It restricts travel from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days, and limits all refugee admissions for 120 days.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to decide the overall legality of the ban in the fall, but it allowed a scaled-down version of the ban to go into effect. The court ruled that travelers from the six targeted countries can bypass the travel ban and enter the U.S. if they can prove they have a "bona fide" relationship with a U.S. person or entity.
The Trump administration defined that close relationship as immediate relatives, including parents, children, spouses and fiances. U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson in Hawaii ordered the administration to include more relatives, including grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, cousins and in-laws.
The Trump administration also ruled that refugees that had been matched up with a resettlement agency in the U.S. did not constitute a close enough relationship to sidestep the travel ban. Watson disagreed, ordering the administration to allow those refugees in.
The State Department updated its website on Monday to comply with Watson's orders. It included the expanded list of family relationships, and informed would-be travelers who were denied a visa based on the travel ban to check back with U.S. consulates to see if their visa can now be approved.
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Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has not announced how it will handle Watson's ruling. While State officials grant visas, CBP agents who screen inbound passengers at U.S. airports are the ones who make the final decision to admit a foreigner into the country.
The Justice Department, meanwhile, will continue fighting back against Watson's ruling. Attorney General Jeff Sessions accused the judge of micromanaging the executive branch, and said he had "undermined national security" and "violated a proper respect for separation of powers." Justice lawyers are appealing Watson's ruling to the Supreme Court.
For now, it remains unclear how many people are now restricted by Trump'stravel ban. As opposed to the first travel ban that was in effect for a week in January, the current one does not bar legal permanent residents, people who already have visas, and those with a "bona fide" relationship with U.S. people or entities.
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