By Ed Diokno
Views From the Edge
THE U.S. SUPREME COURT clarified what it meant when it said yesterday (Sept. 12) refugees with a “bona fide relationship” can still enter the country.
A lower court’s wider definition that included in-laws and grandparents was rejected in a decision seen as a victory for Trump’s Muslim travel ban affecting six countries in the Middle East.
“The decision ignores the anti-Muslim bigotry at the heart of the Muslim ban,” she said. “In this environment where we see an increase in anti-Muslim incidents and hate crimes, this decision is going to embolden anti-Muslim bigotry.” said Zainab Chaudry of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
The State Department said parents, parents-in-law, spouses, fiancés, children and children-in-law would be exempt from the ban, thus cutting off grandparents, uncles and aunts. Refugees who are being sponsored by humanitarian agencies would also be affected by the ban.
The ruling issued by Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy gives Trump a partial victory as the Supreme Court prepares to heart arguments on the constitutionality of Trump’s controversial executive order, which banned travelers from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days and locked out most aspiring refugees for 120 days.
The White House has not indicated whether it will seek to continue the ban beyond the 120 days. Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin said he respected the High Court’s ruling. and is preparing for the hearing there on Oct. 10.
