Less than an hour after a watered down version of Donald Trump’s Muslim ban took effect on Thursday night, it’s already in more legal trouble.
According to Politico, “The State of Hawaii is asking a federal judge to rule that the Trump administration’s latest plan to carry out President Donald Trump’s travel ban executive order defies the ruling the Supreme Court issued on the subject just four days ago.”
The report notes that Hawaii is challenging the administration’s guidelines for who is considered family under the version of the ban that is officially was implemented on Thursday.
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In a new court filing, lawyers for the state and for a Hawaii Imam say guidance the Trump administration issued Thursday takes too narrow a view of what family relationships qualify to exempt a foreigner from the travel ban and would deny admission to refugees who should be exempt from the ban due to their connections to a U.S. resettlement agency.
“This Court should clarify as soon as possible that the Supreme Court meant what it said, and that foreign nationals that credibly claim connections with this country cannot be denied entry under the President’s illegal Order,” Hawaii Attorney General Douglas Chin and private counsel Neal Katyal wrote in a motion filed Thursday with U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson.
Chin added in his statement, according to The Hill: “In Hawaii, ‘close family’ includes many of the people that the federal government decided on its own to exclude from that definition. Unfortunately, this severely limited definition may be in violation of the Supreme Court ruling.”
The latest challenge comes as the Trump administration has essentially redefined what family means for the purpose of enforcing their unconstitutional ban.
“Grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, fiances, and any other ‘extended’ family members” do not meet the administration’s new criteria of family, as Al Jazeera pointed out on Thursday, citing State Department guidance.
For those wondering, step-siblings and other step-family relationships are considered family under the terms of the ban – just be sure to keep grandma out of the United States.
Ultimately, Trump may be claiming victory after a portion of his already-watered-down Muslim ban was allowed to be enacted, but it’s a piece of policy that is likely to face more legal challenges until the Supreme Court finally weighs in later this year.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
