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Hawaii Judge Blocks Bid to Limit Scope of Travel Ban Ruling

By Adam Leposa Jul 7, 2017 11:06am

A federal judge in Hawaii has denied a bid by the state to limit enforcement of President Donald Trump’s travel ban.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the move allows the order to continue to apply to grandparents and other extended relatives of people in the United States, including grandchildren aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, brothers-in-law or sisters-in-law, as well as to refugees with a formal assurance from a resettlement agency.

In the decision, U.S. District Court Judge Derrick K. Watson wrote, “Because Plaintiffs seek clarification of the June 26, 2017 injunction modifications authored by the Supreme Court, clarification should be south there, not here,” CNN reports.

CNBC reports that Hawaii said late Thursday it would appeal the latest ruling to the 9^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

A recent Supreme Court decision allowed parts of the travel ban to go into effect, limiting it by preventing it from applying to “foreign nationals who have a credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.” The Trump administration issued guidelines forcing applicants to prove that they have a relationship with a close relative or organization in the U.S., and the guidelines drew criticism for exempting some extended relatives like grandparents, as well as an assurance from a U.S.-based refugee resettlement organization. The Trump administration argued that they took their definition of close family members from the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, although they added some relations, like in-laws, because one of the plaintiffs in the Hawaii case wanted his Syrian mother-in-law to be able to visit.

The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on the case in October.

Hawaii Judge Blocks Bid to Limit Scope of Travel Ban Ruling

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