In a major ruling interpreting a president’s authority to act under federal statutory law and the United States Constitution, the Supreme Court has upheld President Trump’s third and most recent version of the Administration’s immigration “travel ban.” As a practical matter, this version of the travel ban has been in effect since last December when the Court declined to enjoin it pending resolution of the underlying legal challenge. Thus, the ruling in effect simply maintains the status quo going forward.
The Court’s 5 – 4 decision in Trump v. Hawaii, Case No. 17-965 (U.S. 2018), concludes that the President had broad discretion to exclude persons from certain countries, given the powers bestowed upon the office by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The Court also found that the ban did not violate the religious protections of the U.S. Constitution’s Establishment Clause, because the ban was plausibly related to the President’s stated objective to protect the country and improve immigration vetting processes.
Under the ban, many foreign nationals from the impacted countries – Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen – are prohibited from entry into the U.S., while in other cases, affected travelers have to undergo enhanced screening and vetting requirements. Importantly for employers, however, the ban does not affect those from the impacted countries who currently have valid green cards or work visas.
A copy of the Court’s opinion is available here.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.