IMMIGRATION/LEGAL/TRAVEL BAN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In the latest arguments over President Trump’s travel ban, a three-judge panel of a federal appeals court in Seattle indicated on Monday [8-29-17] that it would continue allowing grandparents and other relatives of United States residents to travel here from six predominantly Muslim countries.
But the judges were less forthcoming about their views on exceptions to a second part of the ban, suspending the nation’s refugee program.
In July in a provisional ruling, one that will last only until the appeals court rules, the Supreme Court allowed exceptions to the ban for many relatives but not for most refugees. The Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case in October. The appeals court is set to decide what will happen while the justices consider the case.
By the end of Monday’s 40-minute argument, it seemed clear that the appeals court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, would rule that the administration had overreached, at least as far as relatives were concerned…
Hashim M. Mooppan, a Justice Department lawyer, argued that an agreement by a resettlement agency to care for a refugee was insufficient to allow entry. Colleen Roh Sinzdak, a lawyer representing Hawaii, which is challenging the ban, said such an agreement satisfied the criteria set out by the Supreme Court.
The travel ban, issued in January and revised in March, caused chaos at airports nationwide and gave rise to a global outcry. It has also prompted a cascade of litigation.”
-Adam Liptak, “Appeals Court Appears Inclined to Exempt Relatives From Travel Ban,” The New York Times online, Aug. 28, 2017