Trump Travel Ban can stay despite ongoing legal battle: SC

The US Supreme Court on Monday decided to allow President Donald Trump's latest travel ban to stay in force despite the ongoing legal case in lower courts, much to the joy of the Trump administration.

Of the members of the jury, seven ruled in favor of the administration while two — Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor — voted for the partial stay on the ban to continue.

The court did not account for its decision. The third travel ban issued by Trump denies American visas to most travelers from eight countries — Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. Six of these are Muslim-majority nations.

Lower court judges in Maryland and Hawaii had barred the implementation of the ban.

The court's decision essentially throws out a compromise that exempted foreign nationals who have credible claims of a bona fide relationship with someone in the United States. That includes grandparents, brothers- and sisters-in- law, aunts, uncles and cousins.

Lawyers for the state of Hawaii argued that the Supreme Court had no reason to enter the case at this stage because the Court had already acknowledged that some travelers from the eight countries can be safely vetted and get visas.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions termed Monday's ruling as a "substantial victory for the safety and security of the American people"; before adding that Trump's travel ban is necessary to protect the country from threats.

A lawyer for the Trump administration argued that some foreign governments are deficient in sharing information about those seeking U.S. visas, posing a possible risk to the U.S.

White House Deputy Press Spokesman Hogan Gidley found no element of surprise in Monday's Supreme Court decision, suggesting that it is "essential to protecting our homeland".

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, however, again labelled the travel ban as a Muslim ban.

"The Supreme Court's actions today are a good reminder that we can't simply rely on the courts to address the Trump administration's efforts to marginalize Muslims and other minorities", CAIR attorney Gadeir Abbas said.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments for and against the Trump travel ban as soon as the issue has made its way through the lower courts. (VOA)