The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 on Monday, December 4th in favor of upholding in full President Trump’s latest travel ban, while other challenges against it in the appeals courts of Richmond, VA, and San Francisco are set to be heard soon. After a resolution is handed up by appellate courts, the Supreme Court will hear the case and make a final decision on the ban by the end of June.
Deputy White House Press Secretary Hogan Gidley said in a statement, “We look forward to presenting a fuller defense of the proclamation as the pending cases work their way through the courts.” The Department of Homeland Security’s acting press secretary Tyler Q. Houlton said DHS is “pleased” that SCOTUS is allowing them to “fulfill this most vital mission performed by any sovereign nation.” Hawaii and the ACLU have sued the administration on the basis of “discrimination,” calling President Trump’s ban a result of his “anti-Muslim prejudice.”
The “extreme vetting” program upheld by the Court ensures that people from Syria, Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Venezuela, North Korea, and Yemen will be barred from entering the United States “essentially” indefinitely until the administration feels the targeted countries have improved co-operation with the US government. In addition, “refugees from 11 countries that have been deemed to warrant extra screening” will be facing “new restrictions” and the program that unites families split between the US and other nations is indefinitely suspended.
Moreover, after 90 days of vetting applicants on a “case-by-case” basis, only refugees whose admissions are “deemed to be in the national interest” will be considered. Vetting will include “collective biographical data as well as employment history,” and “officers will be trained in how to detect fraud.” As a result of this new system, Trump’s 45,000 cap on refugees allowed in this year may not even be met.