Court: Third travel ban can partially take effect

A federal appeals court panel on Monday allowed President Donald Trump’s third travel ban to partially take effect, deciding that the government — at least for now — can keep out people targeted by the measure who have no bona fide ties to the United States.

In a brief order, a threejudge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit temporarily put on hold part of a lower judge’s ruling that had nearly completely blocked the government from enforcing its ban.

The judges said that the government could implement the ban, except on “foreign nationals who have a credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.” They said such people include grandparents, grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins of people in the United States.

Tyler Q. Houlton, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman, said officials were reviewing the court order and “looking to operationalize the ruling, consistent with all applicable court orders, and provide guidance to the field.”

Hawaii Attorney General Douglas Chin, who had sued over the ban on behalf of his state, said in a statement: “Today’s decision ... closely tracks guidance previously issued by the Supreme Court. I’m pleased that family ties to the U.S., including grandparents, will be respected.”

The third version of Trump’s travel ban had been set to take effect last month and would have barred various types of travelers from Syria, Libya, Iran, Yemen, Chad, Somalia, North Korea and Venezuela. But before it could be implemented, two federal judges ruled against the measure, blocking the government from enforcing it on people from six of the eight countries.

A federal judge in Hawaii had blocked the government from implementing the measure almost completely, though he said it could be enforced on people from North Korea and Venezuela. A federal judge in Maryland, meanwhile, issued a less complete halt, saying the government could similarly not enforce the measure on people from six of the eight countries — save North Korea and Venezuela — but only if the travelers the government sought to block had a “bona fide” relationship with a person or entity in the United States. That would include family members, as well as those with a job offer or other professional engagement.