Hawaii weakens Trump travel ban

A federal judge in Hawaii has exempted grandparents, grandchildren and other relatives of people in the United States from the Trump administration's travel ban targeting travelers from six majority-Muslim countries.

The decision by Judge Derrick Watson on Thursday was a victory for opponents of the ban, who say it singles out Muslims in violation of the US constitution.

The Trump administration insists the restrictions are necessary to keep out terrorists.

The US Supreme Court had allowed part of the ban to go into effect on June 29, putting an end, at least temporarily, to five months of skirmishes in the lower courts.

Specifically, the court allowed a 90-day ban on visitors from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, and a 120-day ban on refugees, with exceptions for people with "close family relationships" in the United States.

The Trump administration defined that to be parents, spouses, children, sons- and daughters-in-law, siblings and step- and half-siblings.

But Watson found that "the Government's narrowly defined list finds no support in the careful language of the Supreme Court or even in the immigration statutes on which the Government relies.

"Common sense, for instance, dictates that close family members be defined to include grandparents," he wrote.

"Indeed, grandparents are the epitome of close family members. The Government's definition excludes them. That simply cannot be."

Watson ordered Homeland Security and the State Department not to enforce the ban on "grandparents, grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins of persons in the United States".

The judge also ruled that refugees who have assurances of a placement by an agency in the United States should also be exempt.

Douglas Chin, attorney general for the state of Hawaii, which filed the lawsuit against the Trump administration, welcomed the ruling.

"The federal court today makes clear that the US Government may not ignore the scope of the partial travel ban as it sees fit," said Chin.

Family members have been separated and real people have suffered enough. Courts have found that this Executive Order has no basis in stopping terrorism and is just a pretext for illegal and unconstitutional discrimination."

The Departments of Homeland Security, State and Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comment early Friday.

While the ban itself did not single out Muslims, judges in lower courts had cited Trump's repeated statements during last year's presidential race that he intended to ban Muslims from entering the United States.

His original measure, issued by executive order in January, set off chaos at airports and was almost immediately blocked by the courts.

Sourc: AFP