Ninth Circuit Allows Partial Enforcement of Trump's Travel Ban

By Christopher Coble, Esq. on November 13, 2017 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has not been a friendly venue for President Donald Trump's executive order banning immigration to the U.S. from several Muslim-majority countries. As recently as last month, a federal judge in Ninth Circuit blocked the administration's third attempt at re-issuing the travel ban.

But Trump won a partial victory in the Ninth this week, when judges split Trump's Travel Ban 3.0, allowing enforcement of some, but not all of its provisions. So what's in and what's out? You can check out the ruling for yourself below:

Bona Fide Relationship

The order, issued by a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit and overturning some of Judge Derrick Watson's temporary injunction blocking enforcement of the travel ban, is just two pages long. In it, Watson's injunction is stayed, "except as to 'foreign nationals who have a credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States."

That means most of the travel ban can be enforced, except against "foreign nationals who have a 'close familial relationship' with a person in the United States," including "grandparents, grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins."

People establishing those relationships cannot be barred from entry to the United States under the travel ban, a point based on a previous Supreme Court ruling from June. Those from the eight nations listed on the latest travel band (Somalia, Syria, Libya, Iran, Yemen, North Korea, Venezuela and Chad) who can't establish such a relationship can still be barred from the country.

Here's the ruling, in full:

Hawaii and California v. Trump by FindLaw on Scribd

Copied to clipboard