Temp high court order upholds travel ban

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy issued a temporary order Monday allowing the Trump administration to maintain its restrictive policy on refugees for the time being.

The order is in response to the administration’s request for the high court to block a lower court ruling that could allow up to 24,000 refugees to enter the United States.

Kennedy ordered challengers to the refugee ban to submit written arguments in support of the lower court ruling by midday Tuesday.

The appellate ruling would allow refugees to enter the United States if a resettlement agency in the U.S. agreed to take them in. The ruling would have taken effect Tuesday without the high court’s intervention.