Trump finally gets his travel ban
DONALD Trump’s controversial travel ban on people from six Muslim countries has partly been approved by judges.
The Supreme Court ruling, which came into effect immediately, means arrivals in the US from Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Iran, Syria and Libya will be turned away unless they can prove strong ties to a person or organisation in America.
It flew in the face of lower court decisions that completely blocked Mr Trump’s executive orders for a blanket ban, which he claimed was needed to prevent terrorism in the US. He called yesterday’s ruling “a clear victory for our national security”.
The President added: “I cannot allow people into our country who want to do us harm.
“I want people who can love the United States and all of its citizens,
and who will be hard working and productive.” Students from the six nations and those with family in the US are among the people who can still go there at least until judges decide on the ban’s legality at another hearing.
One of the Supreme Court judges, Justice Clarence Thomas, said the “compromise” ruling would be difficult to interpret and warned it could “invite a flood of litigation until this case is finally resolved”. It is thought the full hearing will begin in October.
Former Labour Cabinet minister David Miliband, the president of humanitarian aid organisation the International Rescue Committee, condemned the ruling.
He said: “Too much time already has been spent litigating this misguided order. The court’s decision threatens damage to vulnerable people waiting to come to the US.”
Bosses at the US Department of Homeland Security said the executive order would be implemented “professionally”, adding there would be “clear and sufficient notice, particularly to potentially affected travellers”.