Posted on September 22, 2017

Trump’s Travel Ban Set to Expire, Forcing Decision on Vetting

Melanie Zanona, The Hill, September 22, 2017

A core piece of President Trump’s travel ban is set to expire on Sunday.

The Supreme Court allowed parts of Trump’s policy to go into effect earlier this summer, starting the clock on a 90-day pause in travel from six predominantly Muslim countries. The stoppage was needed, according to Trump officials, to conduct a review of vetting procedures.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) submitted the results of that review to the White House late last week. Its contents have not been revealed publicly, but the report could recommend that the government strengthen its vetting protocols for visas and refugees, add new nations to the list of banned countries or even craft an entirely new order.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement that no decisions have yet been made about how the president will proceed.

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The original executive order, hastily rolled out just one week after Trump took office, barred people from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Sudan and Somalia from entering the U.S. for 90 days, halted the U.S. refugee resettlement program for 120 days and indefinitely suspended the resettlement of Syrian refugees.

But the policy was halted by legal challenges as protests erupted at airports around the country.

Trump revoked the ban and issued a new order.

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The revised order was also put on hold by the courts, but the Supreme Court overruled in June. The high court allowed the government to begin enforcing the 90-day ban for travelers who don’t have a “bona fide” connection to a person or entity in the U.S.

The Justices of the US Supreme Court Sit for Official Photograph

Credit Image: © Olivier Douliery/CNP via ZUMA Wire

That 90-day period comes to an end on Sunday, just two weeks before the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments over the policy’s legality. A ruling in the case may not be issued for months, however.

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