Fight on Muslim states

Backing

internal review of screening procedures for visa applicants from the six countries.

Opponents say the ban is unlawful, based on visitors’ Muslim religion.

The administration review should be complete before October 2, the first day the justices could hear arguments in their new term.

A 120-day ban on refugees is also being allowed to take effect on a limited basis.

Three of the court’s conservative justices said they would have let the complete bans take effect.

Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch, said the government has shown it is likely to succeed on the merits of the case, and that it will suffer irreparable harm with any interference.

Justice Thomas said the government’s interest in

“National security outweighs any hardship”

preserving national security outweighs any hardship to people denied entry into the country.

Some immigration lawyers said the limited nature of the ban and the silence of the court’s liberals on the issue yesterday suggested that the court had not handed Mr Trump much of a victory.

They said relatively few people would fall under the ban because people coming to study, work or visit family members in the United States already have sufficient relationships with others already in the country.

Mr Trump, though, hailed the high court’s order as a “clear victory for our national security”.

He said in a statement that his “number one responsibility” is to keep the American people safe.

The court’s opinion explained the kinds of relationships people from the six countries must demonstrate to obtain a US visa.

“For individuals, a close familial relationship is required,” the court said.

For people who want to come to the United States to work or study, “the relationship must be formal, documented and formed in the ordinary course, not for the purpose of evading” the travel ban.

Previously, the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, said the ban was “rooted in religious animus” towards Muslims.

DEMONSTRATION: People protest outside the US Supreme Court after the limited travel ban was announced yesterday

President Donald Trump claimed a ‘clear victory’