By now I’m sure you are all aware that the Supreme Court on Monday issued an order agreeing to hear the cases challenging President Drumpf’s travel bans. The cases will be heard in October. The Court also lifted the injunction against the executive order as it applies to individuals with no connections or relationships to persons or entities in the United states.
This means that the travel ban, as it pertains to individuals from 6 countries – Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Libya, or Syria – with no preexisting relationship with the US, will go into effect at 10:30 am tomorrow, June 29. These individuals will be prohibited from entering the country for 90 days.
Your organizations may very well get questions from clients about the travel ban’s effect. Even though the Executive Order is supposed to be applicable only to those with no relationship with the U.S., I would suggest advising that anyone born in, or traveling to/from, one of the six countries who is not a U.S. citizen consult an immigration attorney before traveling to/from the U.S. LPRs should not be affected by the current ban, but I would strongly urge green card holders from the six countries to avoid travel outside of the U.S. unless absolutely necessary.
Clients should also be aware that even U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who are Muslim, from any country, may continue to face harassment while traveling. It’s a good time to review “Know Your Rights” publications. These from the ACLU and CUNY CLEAR are helpful: https://www.aclu.org/files/kyr/kyr_english_5.pdf and http://www.cunyclear.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Travel-Pamphlet_11082012.pdf. Travelers should be prepared for a search when coming back into the country. CBP has a right to search bags, ask questions to verify identity, and to ensure the traveler isn’t bringing prohibited items into the country, but does not have the right to ask about religious or political views, etc.
Finally, the law firm Fragomen has set up a hotline and email address for use by individuals who believe that they or their family members are impacted by the travel ban. They will allow impacted individuals to speak with an attorney free of charge. The attorney will provide information about the impact of the executive orders and, if necessary, can provide referrals for full legal representation. To contact the Fragomen hotline, please call (617) 903-8943 or email executiveorder@fragomen.com.