News: A Not So Just Decision
What’s Happening?
“Bona fide,” two words that have resulted in confusion, dismay, and yet victory for others. On Monday, June 26th, a day before the US Supreme Court entered into its summer recess term, a decision was made to lift part of the ban on President Trump’s executive order on immigration. The Supreme Court announced that a 90-day travel ban can go into effect, with one exception; nationals of the six countries listed who had a “bona fide” relationship with Americans or an American entity, would still be permitted to enter the country. According to ABC news, the term was vaguely defined to mean, “foreign nationals with familial connections residing in the US, students who have already been admitted into an American university and workers with existing job offers in the US.” The ban will likely go into effect this summer, raising concerns for many who had planned to travel to the US but who don’t comply with having a “bona fide relationship”. Mr. Trump on the other hand was thrilled with the decision calling it, “a clear victory for our national security.”
Background
Earlier this year, on January 27th, Mr. Trump signed Executive Order No. 13769 which temporarily banned the entry of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries: Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Libya and Sudan. The travel restrictions were set to last for 90 days, with an additional indefinite travel restriction on Syrian refugees, in order to keep “radical Islamic terrorists outside of the United States of America”. Immediately, chaos ensued. People around the country gathered to protest the order on the streets and at airports, including New York City’s JFK, and Los Angeles’s LAX. Even politicians claimed that the order was “un-American” and “mean spirited”, and the UN said that it was strictly forbidden under human rights laws. But the President persisted, blaming the airport problems on Delta Air Lines, and defending his controversial order. He took to his favorite platform, Twitter, tweeting "Only 109 people out of 325,000 were detained and held for questioning. Big problems at airports were caused by Delta computer outage ... protesters and the tears of Senator (Chuck) Schumer. Secretary Kelly said that all is going well with very few problems. MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN!"