Donald Trump hails 'victory for national security' as US court reinstates travel ban

US President Donald Trump praised the ruling as a 'victory for national security'
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Jonathan Mitchell27 June 2017

Donald Trump has hailed a Supreme Court ruling allowing him to partly reinstate his controversial travel ban as a "clear victory for our national security".

The US Supreme Court ruled the Trump administration could press ahead with a limited version of the travel ban on visitors from six mostly Muslim countries.

The justices will hear full arguments in October in the case, which has prompted outrage and protests across the world.

The decision is a victory for the US President in the biggest legal controversy of his presidency so far.

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The court said that Mr Trump's ban on visitors from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen can be enforced if those visitors lack a "credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States".

Mr Trump said last week that the ban would take effect 72 hours after being cleared by the courts.

The administration has said the 90-day ban was needed on national security grounds to allow an internal review of screening procedures for visa applicants from the six countries.

Opponents say the ban is unlawful, based on visitors' Muslim religion.

Three of the court's conservative justices said they would have let the complete bans take effect.

Justice Clarence Thomas said the US government's interest in preserving national security outweighs any hardship to people denied entry into the country.

Mr Trump said in a statement that his "number one responsibility" is to keep the American people safe.

The court's opinion explained the kinds of relationships people from the six countries must demonstrate to obtain a US visa.

"For individuals, a close familial relationship is required," the court said.

For people who want to come to the United States to work or study, "the relationship must be formal, documented and formed in the ordinary course, not for the purpose of evading" the travel ban.

The opinion faulted the two federal appeals courts that had blocked the travel policy for going too far to limit Mr Trump's authority over immigration.

The president announced the travel ban a week after he took office in January and revised it in March after setbacks in court.

The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, said the ban was "rooted in religious animus" towards Muslims.

The San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals said the travel policy does not comply with federal immigration law, including a prohibition on nationality-based discrimination.

Mr Trump's first executive order on travel applied to travellers from Iraq as well as the six countries, and took effect immediately, causing chaos and panic at airports over the last weekend in January as the homeland security department scrambled to figure out who the order covered and how it was to be implemented.

A federal judge blocked it eight days later, an order that was upheld by a 9th Circuit panel.

Rather than pursue an appeal, the administration said it would revise the policy.

In March, Mr Trump issued the narrower order.

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