Supreme Court orders new briefs after Trump issues travel ban proclamation News
Supreme Court orders new briefs after Trump issues travel ban proclamation

The US Supreme Court on Monday removed the travel ban cases from its calendar and ordered both sides to file new briefs in light of President Donald Trump’s proclamation [text] Sunday that created new restrictions to enter the US for citizens from eight countries [JURIST report].

In a brief order, the court directed the parties:

to file letter briefs addressing whether, or to what extent, the Proclamation issued on September 24, 2017, may render cases No. 16-1436 and 16-1540 moot. The parties should also address whether, or to what extent, the scheduled expiration of Sections 6(a) and 6(b) of Executive Order No. 13780 may render those aspects of case No. 16-1540 moot. The briefs, limited to 10 pages, are to be filed simultaneously with the Clerk and served upon opposing counsel on or before noon, Thursday, October 5, 2017. The cases are removed from the oral argument calendar, pending further order of the Court.

Trump’s proclamation, which will replace the expiring travel ban [text], affects citizens of Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen.

The proclamation creates a ban on immigrant visas for nationals from Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, and non-immigrant visas are also suspended to nationals of Chad, Libya, North Korea, Syria and Yemen. A suspension of non-immigrant visas to citizens for Venezuela will apply only to certain government officials and their immediate families. The restrictions target countries that the Department of Homeland Security [official website] determined do not share sufficient information or have not taken security precautions deemed necessary to protect US security interests. The US had shared these baseline security requirements and gave the world 50 days to comply.

Narrow, case-by-case waivers exist for citizens of the affected countries if an individual meets certain criteria, such as: the individual “has previously been admitted to the United States for a continuous period of work, study, or other long-term activity,” “has previously established significant contacts with the United States,” “seeks to enter the United States to visit or reside with a close family member (e.g., a spouse, child, or parent) who is a United States citizen,” or “has been employed by, or on behalf of, the United States Government.”

Following the announcement of the proclamation, Trump tweeted [text], “Making America Safe is my number one priority. We will not admit those into our country we cannot safely vet.”

The new rules are set to go into effect October 18.