Trump’s travel ban: Key dates and decisions
President Donald Trump’s travel ban was upheld by the Supreme Court on Tuesday after an 18-month battle in the legal system.
The Supreme Court upheld the ban in a 5-4 ruling. It bans travelers from six majority-Muslim nations but also includes North Korea and Venezuelan government officials.
Here are the key dates and decisions leading up to this point.
Jan. 27, 2017
One week after taking office, president Donald Trump signs the executive order forbidding citizens from seven Muslim countries including Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen from entering the country for 90 days. Syrian refugees were suspended from entering indefinitely and refugees were also prohibited from entering the country for 120 days.
Jan. 28, 2017
Several hundreds were trapped in airports after Trump’s executive order was signed the following day. The action resulted in an outpouring of protests across the country. The American Civil Liberties Union and the NW Immigrant Rights Project received a court order to help two individuals who were denied entry into the United States, according to the ACLU. Four other courts also weighed in against the ban.
Jan. 29, 2017
Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world – a horrible mess!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2017
A New York federal judge allowed a temporary injunction to take effect against the executive order based on filings from the ACLU. It sought to ban a portion of the executive order including the deportation of individuals who had a valid visa or completed a refugee application.
Feb. 3, 2017
What is our country coming to when a judge can halt a Homeland Security travel ban and anyone, even with bad intentions, can come into U.S.?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2017
A federal Judge in Washington issued a temporary hold on Trump’s Muslim ban. The judge indicated that there were sufficient legal grounds for Washington State and Minnesota to challenge the order. It is estimated that at the time 60,000 individuals had their visas cancelled, according to the Associated Press.
March 6, 2017
The Trump administration signs a revised version of the travel ban avoiding some of the legal challenges that were presented in prior suits. The new ban issued a temporary halt, 120 days, to the U.S. Refugee Program. It doesn’t bar refugees already scheduled to enter the country. It also placed a 90 day ban on new visa applicants from six countries including Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, and Libya. Language that focused on preferences to religious minorities such as Christians was also eliminated.
March 15
A day before the revised travel ban is scheduled to take effect, U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson in Hawaii filed a temporary restraining order nationwide. The next day, a federal court in Maryland blocks a portion of the ban. The Trump administration appeals Maryland’s injunction a few days later. In May, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals rules to uphold the lower courts ruling in the Maryland case.
June 26, 2017
The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to S.C.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017
The Supreme Court allowed parts of Trump’s revised travel ban to go into effect. The decision essentially allowed for the ban to be imposed on travelers from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen only if they were unable to provide proof of a “bona fide” relationship with a person or establishment in the United States. In July, the Supreme Court agrees to keep an exemption for certain close relatives of people in the United States. It also issues an order upholding the refugee ban.
Sept. 24, 2017
Trump signs a third version of the travel ban, which continues to block travelers from six majority-Muslim nations but also includes North Korea and Venezuelan government officials. The new ban was also challenged by federal district courts in Hawaii and Maryland. The Supreme Court canceled oral arguments against the second version of the ban.
Dec. 4, 2017
The Supreme Court allows the most recent version of the travel ban to take effect while it is litigated. This decision will supercede later decisions by lower courts upholding the ban: the Ninth Circuit ruled in Hawaii’s case on Dec. 22 and the Fourth Circuit rules against the ban on Feb. 15, 2018.
Jan. 19, 2018
The Supreme Court announced that it will hear challenges to the administration’s latest version of travel ban. Oral arguments begin in April.
June 26, 2018
The Supreme Court upholds the third version of the travel ban the Trump administration signed in a 5-4 ruling indicating that the president is allowed to regulate immigration despite challenges over remarks the president made regarding anti-muslim sentiment.
Sources: The Associated Press, American Civil Liberties Union